Strack ties career high with 33 points to lead Kentucky women over Georgia 76-61 in SEC Tournament

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Clara Strack made a career-high five 3-pointers in matching her career best of 33 points and No. 17 Kentucky defeated No. 22 Georgia 76-61 in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday.

Strack, a 6-foot-5 center, was 5 of 7 from the arc, 12 of 22 overall and grabbed eight rebounds for the ninth-seeded Wildcats (23-9), who will play top seed and third-ranked South Carolina in a Friday quarterfinal.

Teonni Key added 14 points and 12 rebounds and Tonie Morgan also scored 14 points and had seven assists for the Wildcats, who shot 50% and were 14 of 20 at the line to 6 of 8 for the Bulldogs.

Dani Carnegie scored 18 points, Trinity Turner 14 and Mia Woolfolk 11 for Georgia (22-9), which was just 5 of 26 on 3-pointers.

Strack and Amelia Hassett scored all the points in 13-2 run that left Kentucky ahead by 15 with under three minutes to go.

A Strack 3-pointer early in the third quarter gave Kentucky the lead for good. The Wildcats hit six straight shots in the period and Strack scored nine points for a 54-49 lead.

After Georgia scored the opening basket, Kentucky took and held the lead the remainder of the first quarter with Strack hitting a pair of 3-pointers and scoring 13 points. Carnegie hit a pair of 3s and scored the Bulldogs' first eight points of the second quarter to tie the game with Georgia leading 36-35 at the break.

Up next

Kentucky will get another shot at South Carolina, which took a 60-56 road win over the Wildcats on March 1.

Georgia will wait to see where it lands in the NCAA Tournament field.