Georgia Amoore scores 34 points and Kentucky holds off charge by Liberty for 79-78 March Madness win

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Georgia Amoore scored 34 points, including three free throws in the final 10 seconds for fourth-seeded Kentucky, which nearly blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead but held on for a 79-78 victory over 13th-seeded Liberty in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday.

The second-team All-America guard made 6 of 10 3-pointers and added eight assists, two steals and two blocks. She scored 23 first-half points for the Wildcats (23-7), who led 67-50 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

But the Kentucky went cold, going nearly five minutes without scoring, and the Flames (26-7) got within 74-73 on a 3-pointer by Avery Mills — her only basket of the game — with 1:14 remaining. Amoore responded with a driving layup, her first points since the final minute of the third quarter.

Liberty’s Emma Hess drained a 3-pointer for the final points of the game, but Amoore avoided getting fouled in the final 2 seconds to preserve Kentucky’s first tournament win in four years. The Wildcats will face either Kansas State or Fairfield in the second round on Sunday.

Dazia Lawrence added 16 points for Kentucky, which also got 15 points and 10 rebounds from Clara Strack.

Emmy Stout came off the bench to lead Liberty with 20 points. Hess added 17.

Takeaways

Liberty: Seeking their first March Madness victory in 20 years, the Flames couldn’t quite complete the comeback.

Kentucky: Amoore scored plenty early, but with the game and season in the balance, she made the plays to help the Wildcats survive and advance.

Key moment

Amoore had the ball as the first half ended and Liberty had cut a 14-point deficit in half. Rather than put up a shot, she found Lawrence in the corner, and Lawrence drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to make it 44-34 at the break. Those points turned out to be crucial.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.