Kentucky's seniors reflect on their favorite Wildcat memories

On Sunday, Kentucky will honor its five seniors before taking on South Carolina in what will be a sold out contest in Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Ahead of the Senior Day festivities, Teonni Key, Amelia Hassett, Jordan Obi, Josie Gilvin and Tonie Morgan each reflected on their time as Wildcats with KSR as they shared some of their favorite memories from their time in Lexington.

Teonni Key used time on sideline to learn and grow

Teonni Key spent the first two years of her collegiate career at North Carolina before spending the final two at Kentucky. Unfortunately, she’s dealt with injuries pretty much her entire career — her dislocated right elbow being the latest.

No player wants to sit on the bench, but that period of time has allowed Key to sit back and see the game of basketball, and life in general, in a different light.

“I’ve learned so much, it’s been such a perspective shift, especially this year, just seeing what ways I can impact the game when I get back and what this team needs,” Key told KSR. “When you take a step away like that, you see things from a different perspective and see what is needed for the team in general.”

“This year’s been a little crazy, but I think it’s been a great year,” she added. “I’ve learned so much, I’ve had such a good time with all the girls and everything. We as a team have learned so much, we have pushed through so much. I just think that’s been super special, honestly.”

Key hails from Cary, NC and, of course, had the special privilege of playing for her state school for a couple of years. However, she ultimately came to the realization that it would probably be best for her if she charted new territory.

It wasn’t an easy decision for her to make more likely than not, but it was a decision that, at the end of the day, she was at peace with.

“You just got to trust God and go with it,” Key said of her move from North Carolina to Kentucky. “You gotta go where you’re valued, and that was my biggest thing, just being adaptable, being versatile, open to learning and growing wherever that may be.”

“I think the biggest takeaway from what I’ve learned, something Coach Brooks says all the time, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react, I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Jordan Obi is thankful for the up and down ride

Georgia Amoore and Dazia Lawrence weren’t supposed to be the only seniors on last year’s team. Jordan Obi was too, but her season ended before it began when she tore her Achilles in in the 2024-25 offseason.

For a year, she itched to get back to the hardwood, but similarly to Key, those tough times allowed her to really appreciate the good times.

“It’s been fun,” Obi told KSR about her time as a Wildcat. “It’s felt long, but it’s also felt short at the same time. They always say it goes by fast, and that’s something that you don’t really realize until you’re at the end. So, it’s crazy. It’s been fun. It’s been full of ups and downs, but I’ve enjoyed all of it.”

“I think last year, not having played, just being able to build those relationships, and this year, I’m actually on the floor with them,” she noted. “It feels like a family. Everyone, not even like the team, the staff, but just like everyone in the building, BBN, it just feels like family.”

Josie Gilvin has learned to celebrate the success of others

Josie Gilvin was an all-conference player at WKU, and no one would have blamed her for staying there, but she wasn’t satisfied with simply being good enough. She wanted to get even better. At Kentucky, she hasn’t gotten the same playing time she received as a Lady Topper, but in return, she’s gotten to fulfill her dream of being a Wildcat.

“I heard something good and it was clap for others until it’s your turn to be clapped for,” Gilvin said about her role at Kentucky. “I think just supporting the people around you, whether it’s friends, your teammates, your coaches, just having that good support system off the court makes the whole difference.”

“I wanted something that was more competitive, higher level, and that’s exactly what I got,” Gilvin told KSR. “Basketball is hard and it gets even harder when you go up. I learned a lot from that. I knew it was going to be a great place to get better and become that best player I can be.”

She’s experienced some great moments in the blue and white, both on and off the court. Her favorite moments, however, are when she and Gabby Brooks celebrate with one another after a big play.

“There’s been a lot [of moments], but I just think of me and Gabby, a lot of celebrations for everyone. When either Millie hits a three or Clara takes you down in the post, we have a lot of celebrations for that, so it’s been a lot of fun.”

Amelia Hassett got an experience she never thought was possible

Unlike the other four seniors on this team, Amelia Hassett not only had to work her way up from the JUCO ranks, but she also had to make the life-altering decision to make the move across the world from Australia. All of that just to chase a dream — a dream that has culminated into two great years in Lexington.

“Two years — it doesn’t feel long, but it’s been a long time, so I feel like it’s just amazing, honestly,” Hassett told KSR. “I never expected to come to Kentucky, but coming under Coach [Kenny] Brooks and the staff and the girls, it’s been an experience, and I’ve loved it.”

“JUCO kind of helped me get used to the states, get used to college basketball in a sense, but nothing can prepare you for the SEC, so just having the confidence that my coaches have in me, the girls too, it helped a lot.”

The transition from moving across the world and the going from JUCO to the SEC could be overwhelming, to say the least, but she has another international teammate in Dominika Paurová who she can relate to.

“It was hard a little bit,” Hassett said of the switch to Kentucky. “Just having my teammates around, them being there obviously — Dom, my roommate, we kind of have the same thing going, so that’s definitely helped a lot.”

“[My family has been] very supportive,” she added. “They kind of knew when I was talking about it, coming from a small town, you need to get away, but they didn’t expect it to be so far away, but I think they loved it because they can obviously come over here and see America.”

Tonie Morgan has taken her game to a new level

Tonie Morgan was a good point guard at Georgia Tech, but under Kenny Brooks at Kentucky, she has become great — an all-time Kentucky great. When Brooks told her that he wanted her in Lexington while she was in the transfer portal, it was exactly what she needed to hear.

“It meant a lot to me because I felt like it was a perfect fit,” Morgan told KSR regarding Brooks recruiting her to Kentucky. “He was a point guard himself like he says all the time, just a point guard whisperer, so he knew what I needed, the skills I needed to be at the level I want to be at. [He has helped me] tremendously. And not just the X’s and O’s, but just from a leadership qualities and what that looks like in a point guard and how that translates to the next level is definitely something I needed, and I’m glad I got it.”

We know that Brooks has what it takes to coach up a great floor general at the one, but away from basketball, Morgan has a very strong relationship with her head coach.

“He’s great, he’s a girl dad, so he knows how to relate to us, he knows how to talk to us, so it’s been good that he’s respectable and he’s a great guy.”

Of course, her biggest moment as a Wildcat thus far was almost certainly her game-winning three at LSU, but there’s a specific moment from another top-five win that really resonates with her.

“[That win over LSU] was definitely one of the top moments, but there’s a picture of me on the floor and Jordan is like hitting my chest, it was an and-one three, I think that’s definitely like top five because you could see all the energy, the emotions that was filled in that game and that shot.”

Kentucky will honor each of the five seniors before it looks to upset Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks. Doors open at 12:45 p.m. ET, and the Senior Day ceremony begins at 1:39 p.m. ET. Hopefully, these seniors can create another special, magical moment as they pull off what would be a massive, massive victory.