Just when you thought Kentucky was down and out, they got back up to slay undefeated LSU

When folks from around the country looked at Thursday’s women’s college basketball lineup, they looked at No. 5 LSU vs. No. 11 Kentucky and acknowledged that this was the best game of the day in a packed slate of games. However, the working assumption heading into the night was that LSU would get the win. Heck, even the sportsbooks thought the Tigers had this one in the bag. LSU entered the game as a 12.5-point favorites, according to BetMGM.

Of course, now we know that didn’t happen — Kentucky got the 80-78 win over LSU thanks to a Tonie Morgan game-winning three. It was miraculous, improbable and emotional, and there’s some history that led us to this point that truly paints the full picture of this win.

Kenny Brooks entered Thursday’s game on a nasty losing skid to Kim Mulkey at LSU. When he led Virginia Tech to its first-ever Final Four during the 2023 NCAA Tournament, their hot streak was put to an end as LSU got the 79-72 win over the Hokies en route to a national title.

They entered the fourth quarter with a nine-point lead, but they lost that one in heartbreaking fashion.

The following season, the two teams met again in the SEC/ACC Challenge, but LSU won in a blowout, winning 82-64 as Mulkey earned her 700th victory as a head coach.

Last year, Kentucky got out to a 36-20 lead over the Tigers in Historic Memorial Coliseum as Georgia Amoore made an insane tip-of-the-ball play to score in transition to push the lead to 16. However, as fate would have it, LSU stormed back to, again, hand Brooks another heartbreaking 65-58 loss.

Then, we fast forward to Thursday. Being on the road against a historically good offense, knowing the history Brooks had with Mulkey and LSU, the odds were (literally) stacked against Kentucky.

LSU came out firing on all cylinders, going up 14-2 early in the first quarter. Brooks even admitted postgame that Kentucky was “shell-shocked” out the gate. Just when you thought Kentucky was about to get run out of the gym, they went on a 13-0 run and ended the first quarter only down by one. Then, LSU would go on a 6-0 run, an 8-0 run and a 10-0 run all in the second half, but again, Kentucky stayed in the fight. It seemed like it was a 4-6 point game for the entire second half. Then, Kentucky got the lead to go up 77-75 on LSU.

However, just needing to make one more stop on the defensive end, Clara Strack fouled on a three-point shot, practically giving the Tigers the win right on a silver platter. Of course, LSU’s Mikaylah Williams would make all three free throws — a slap in the face to Kentucky, who had shot just 12-22 (55%) from the charity stripe in Baton Rouge.

Again, it seemed like Kentucky — who had gone cold offensively at times against the Tigers — were down and out as they desperately needed a shot — anything to keep their hopes alive. Then, with the clock winding down, Tonie Morgan hit the shot heart ’round the country.

Just like that, the beast had been slayed. After heartbreaking loss after heartbreaking loss to LSU and Kim Mulkey, Kenny Brooks and Kentucky pulled off the win. Now sitting at 14-1, Kentucky showed its guts and resiliency against the Tigers. Amidst all the adversity, the Cats wound out on top. After getting knocked down time after time, Kentucky kept getting back up, landing the final blow to win the heavyweight fight.