For the first time in 10 long years, the Kentucky Wildcats are headed back to the Sweet 16. And Kentucky's head coach is loving it. Talking about this group of Cats Brooks admitted he is just trying to soak it all up:
"When you have a group like that, and they're good at basketball, you better stop and smell the roses."
And it wasn't easy at all.
Facing a suffocating West Virginia press and a deafening Morgantown crowd, Kentucky survived a thrilling 74-73 battle. When the Mountaineers erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats didn't flinch. Instead, they leaned on the toughness that head coach Kenny Brooks has spent the last two years instilling in this program.
The best front court in the country
If you want to know how Kentucky survived this game, look directly at the paint.
The argument can be made that Kentucky has the best front court in college basketball. On Monday night, it would be hard to argue. The 6-foot-5 duo was an unsolvable mismatch for West Virginia, completely taking over the game on the glass and altering shots at the rim while miraculously staying out of foul trouble.
Key delivered a massive 19-point, 10-rebound performance and secured the game-sealing rebound in the final seconds. Strack was equally dominant, posting 18 points and 15 rebounds of her own. Together, they physically wore down the Mountaineers, who used a wild crowd to come all the way back.
An ironwoman performance
While the bigs dominated the paint, senior point guard Tonie Morgan was tasked with navigating a nightmare.
West Virginia's entire identity is built on a relentless, trapping, chaotic defense. Morgan's job was to break it, and she never took a break. She played the entire 40 minutes, absorbing the physical toll of fighting through screens and intense perimeter pressure.
When asked about the pain of that physicality after the game, Morgan simply smiled.
"You know, it wasn't painful at all," Morgan said. "It was fun. That was a fun game, a fun atmosphere. You want to play tough teams like that because we played it all year. Why change it up now?"
It took Kenny Brooks just two seasons to wake up the sleeping giant of Kentucky women's basketball. After suffering a heartbreaking second-round exit a year ago, Brooks and his staff completely re-tooled the roster and built a team capable of handling massive runs without losing their composure.
As the Wildcats prepare to pack their bags for the Sweet 16, Brooks made one thing clear: he isn't going to let this moment pass without appreciating exactly what his players have accomplished.
"I'm too old to be living life and not stopping and smelling the roses," Brooks said. "You got to really embrace it because I have a group of young women in that locker room that are so much fun to be around."
They will be playing Texas at 3 PM on Saturday.