Kentucky defeats Miami 64-48 as Kenny Brooks gets his first SEC/ACC Challenge win

In last year’s SEC/ACC Challenge, Kentucky went on the road at North Carolina and got rocked by the Tar Heels. The year prior, the Kyra Elzy-led Wildcats beat Boston College at home (in the Transy gym, technically at home) on a last-second layup from Eniya Russell. This year, Kenny Brooks and his bunch were tasked with going on the road to face a tough Miami squad.

Kentucky ended up getting the win, beating the Canes 64-48 to move to 9-1 this season and 2-1 in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

A lot like the Kentucky-North Carolina men’s game on Tuesday, Kentucky started the game hanging onto the lead, but it wasn’t because shots were falling like crazy for the Cats. Despite shooting just 5-17 (29%) from the field in the first quarter, Kentucky ended the period with a 16-13 lead.

It looked like the night was just completely destined for failure when Tonie Morgan slipped on the court and got banged up midway through the second quarter. There wasn’t a super clear injury it looked like, and after a quick trip to the locker room, the 5-foot-9 point guard checked back in. It was 26-23 Cats at the break.

The separation really began when Kentucky managed to pull off a 12-0 run sparked by Morgan in the third. Suddenly, the open shots that weren’t falling earlier in the game were falling. Clara Strack was also a big part of that run. Of course, the defense was still holding strong too.

Kentucky would manage to told onto that lead the rest of the way, getting a solid win over a team that’s kept it really close against other AP Top 25 teams.

For the first time since Nov. 18 when Kentucky beat Purdue, the Cats return to Historic Memorial Coliseum to take on the Central Michigan Chippewas. Speaking of Purdue, Central Michigan actually beat them in their last outing 57-55. Kentucky is 2-0 all-time vs. Central Michigan. That game is on Sunday at noon ET on SEC Network+.