Kentucky is 11-1 in back-to-back seasons for first time since '18-'19, '19-'20 with win at Belmont

by: Phoenix Stevens2 hours agoPStevensKSR

Belmont kept it close against Kentucky last year in Historic Memorial Coliseum as the Cats squeezed out a six-point win. The Bruins seem to be a thorn in the side of every quality opponent they face. With how close last year’s game was, Kentucky was going to have to play well in order to escape Sunday’s contest with a win to avoid a deflating upset.

Kentucky would end up getting the win, beating Belmont 77-69 to move to 11-1 on the year. The Cats start 11-1 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

It was close through the first quarter. Shots weren’t really falling, and that was especially the case for Clara Strack. She shot just 2-8 in the first quarter with a lot of those being uncontested, low-percentage looks. Belmont wasn’t necessarily firing on all cylinders wither, but with Strack and Kentucky struggling offensively, it was a 16-14 game after. 10 minutes of play.

Thankfully, Amelia Hassett and Asia Boone sparked a 6-0 run for Kentucky to begin the second quarter to force a Bruins timeout. Both teams went on runs and Kentucky got up by as much as 13 at one point, but right as they looked to blow the game away, Belmont made it just a tad bit closer. Jordan Obi nailed a three as time expired to make it 41-32 at the break.

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Kentucky, again, tried to make an effort to pull away, but Belmont kept on battling and eventually rattled off an 11-0 run to make it competitive. The three-point shooting started to get cold and heading into the fourth, it was 56-46 Kentucky. Belmont had some momentum heading into the final period of play thanks to a half court shot at the horn.

Belmont did what Belmont does. They hung around and fought for 40 minutes. Still, Kentucky survived.

The next time Kentucky will be in action will be Friday in Historic Memorial Coliseum against Wright State. The Raiders are just 5-7 on the year with five of those losses coming in their last six games. That game is set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.