“Tremendous shot,” Kenny Brooks said of Cooke’s attempt at a game-winner. “I mean, basketball is such a beautiful sport, crazy sport. If you want to dig deep, if you look last year, we played against Kansas State, and we threw the ball inside, and we got the ball to our star player, Georgia Amoore, and she took a floater probably about a five or six-foot floater that danced around on the rim and fell off, almost identical the way that Gia’s shot danced off.”
That Amoore shot was indeed eerily similar to how Cooke’s was. Both should have probably gone in, but neither did. Kentucky was lucky to be on the right side of things this time around.
“We looked at it, and when Georgia missed that shot, that’s a shot that me and her warm up with, and she’ll make 10 out of 10,” Brooks added. “That’s just the way basketball is, you know? We put [Cooke] in situations, she did a good job of creating some separation, and she got the shot up. The basketball guys have a funny way of just imposing their will, and we were very fortunate that it didn’t [go in], but kudos to Teonni, who had the wherewithal to get up and get the rebound to secure it.”
Key also reflected on her big-time rebound after the West Virginia game. She’s had plenty of big moments during her Kentucky career, but none were bigger than her 10th rebound of the day against the Mountaineers.
“I think just locking in,” Key said regarding what was going through her mind on that play. “All year, rebounding has been a crucial aspect of what we do. So, I think just securing the board there, and then just knowing that situation of the game, just calling timeout and getting us back in the huddle and back locked in.”
Because of her heroic effort, Kentucky is still alive. The Cats survived and advanced, and now, a date with Texas awaits in Fort Worth on Saturday.
