When you think of Kentucky women’s basketball this season, names like Clara Strack and Tonie Morgan probably come to mind first - and for good reason. Strack’s 28-point, nine-rebound performance in Sunday’s 74-57 win over Ole Miss was dominant, and Morgan’s steady hand at point guard (14 points, nine assists) continues to set the tone. But if you watched closely in the fourth quarter, the real story was Kentucky’s supporting cast - and how they turned a competitive game into a statement win.
Asia Boone and Amelia Hassett weren’t just role players on Sunday. They were difference-makers.
The duo combined for seven made threes and 24 points, stretching the Ole Miss defense and punishing every lapse in coverage. Boone finished with 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting from deep, and Hassett added nine points, going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
That kind of perimeter shooting doesn’t just pad the box score - it reshapes the entire floor.
Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin didn’t mince words postgame. She could live with Strack getting hers.
She could even stomach Morgan’s near double-double. But letting Boone and Hassett heat up from deep?
That was the backbreaker.
“Boone and Hassett had 21 points because we did not guard the 3. We don’t give that up,” McPhee-McCuin said.
“We usually take that away. We can handle 28 points by Strack and 14 by Morgan.
But we didn’t want Hassett to get nine and didn’t want Boone to go 4-for-8 from 3. Their supporting cast showed up in a big way.”
And that’s exactly what Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks is banking on. While Boone and Hassett might not be the headline grabbers, their ability to stretch the floor gives Kentucky a whole new dimension. When those two are locked in, this team becomes a matchup nightmare.
“Both of them do a tremendous job of stretching the floor,” Brooks said. “We become a lot different.”
Brooks credited recent lineup adjustments - including inserting Boone back into the starting five - for helping the Wildcats get off to faster starts. And it’s working. Boone, a transfer from Liberty, has found her rhythm in Lexington, and her confidence is growing by the game.
“I mean she is smaller, but you can’t tell because she just shoots her shot,” Morgan said. “She’s just been so happy lately, but I’m going to keep feeding her. We’re going to keep finding her, and she’s going to keep knocking them down.”
Boone’s impact isn’t limited to offense. At 5-foot-8, she might be undersized, but she plays with the kind of grit that can’t be taught. She’s fearless on defense, constantly willing to step in and take a charge - no matter who’s coming downhill.
That kind of toughness doesn’t come from drills, either. Brooks made it clear: they don’t run charge-taking drills in practice. It’s all about mindset.
“We do not do any charge drills. You either have it or you don’t. She does,” Brooks said.
And while he admits he cringes every time one of his players hits the deck - especially with the team’s limited depth - it speaks to the mental toughness he’s instilled in this group. He even joked that he had to teach Morgan how to pop up quickly after a fall just to save him from a “mini heart attack.”
Boone’s stat line on the season tells the story of her emergence: 10.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists per game, while averaging over 29 minutes. She’s hitting 36.8 percent from three and leads the team with 77 made triples. That’s not just solid production - that’s a player who’s become a central piece of the offense.
“Asia came from a mid-major averaging 10 points per game. She came to Kentucky and she is playing more minutes and averaging more points and shots.
That is the transfer’s dream,” Brooks said. “You don’t anticipate that.
She just went out and took it. She has the green light.”
That green light is paying dividends, not just for Boone, but for the entire Wildcats offense. Her ability to space the floor allows Morgan to play off the ball more - a subtle shift that’s helping Kentucky unlock different looks and keep defenses guessing.
And let’s not overlook the energy off the bench. Brooks gave a nod to Jordan Obi for her positive presence when she checks in, another example of how this team is buying in across the board.
With the win, Kentucky climbed to No. 16 in the national rankings - a reflection of how this team is starting to hit its stride. And while the stars continue to shine, it’s the emergence of players like Boone and Hassett that could elevate the Wildcats from dangerous to downright dangerous.
Next up: a road test at Vanderbilt on Sunday. If Kentucky’s supporting cast keeps showing up like this, the Wildcats won’t just be climbing the rankings - they’ll be making some serious noise come March.