FORT WORTH, TX — Walking down a hallway in the labyrinthine corridors of Dickies Arena just before his team took the floor for practice Friday morning, Kenny Brooks said Amelia Hassett is “a unicorn.”
It’s a phrase that has picked up popularity in the basketball word the past decade, affixed to describe seemingly one-of-a-kind players.
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In Hassett’s case, however, it couldn’t be more accurate.
The numbers she’s posted for Kentucky’s women’s basketball this season are without compare. Entering Saturday’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup against Texas, Hassett has knocked down 98 3-pointers, the most in the SEC and doubling as a single-season school record. Yet the senior from New South Wales, Australia, also ranks among the top 10 in the league in blocked shots per game, averaging 1.4 per outing.
To put in perspective how singular those figures are, consider this:
So when Brooks dubs Hassett “a unicorn?”
Believe him.
“She’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached — and I’ve only had her for two years,” Brooks, who signed Hassett as a transfer from East Florida in his first offseason as UK’s coach, told The Courier Journal. “But what she does for our team is invaluable and she makes us be as good as we can be.”
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It amazes teammate (and fellow 3-point markswoman) Asia Boone, who is right on Hassett’s heels with 94 triples.
“Every team should have an Amelia Hassett,” said Boone, a junior guard, “because she’s tall. She’s long. She can shoot it. She has guard-like skills, but also post-like skills. She can (play) every position.
“I think that’s very unique.”
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY – MARCH 23: Amelia Hassett #32 of the Kentucky Wildcats shoots a three point basket during the third quarter of a game against the Kansas State Wildcats in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Memorial Coliseum on March 23, 2025 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Hassett’s shot-blocking prowess always has been there; she also ranked in the SEC’s top 10 in that department in 2024-25.
The same can’t be said for her long-range accuracy. She made only 55 triples last season. Perhaps that’s why her sharpshooting reputation wasn’t easy to initially accept.
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Brooks recalled last season, he’d ask Hassett, “Who is the best shooter on the team?”
She’d reply, “Georgia Amoore,” the Wildcats‘ since-departed point guard.
Then, Brooks would ask her again.
“She would answer my question with a question,” Brooks said, “She would say, ‘Me?'”
Over time, that sheepish reply started to shift.
“(Last) summer she came in and I said, ‘Who is the best shooter on the team?'” Brooks said. “And emphatically — with an exclamation point — she said, ‘Me!'”
Hassett didn’t want to focus on her individual stats. She’s just thankful her coaches and teammates never lost faith.
“Confidence obviously helps a lot in the game,” she said. “Coming from last season to this season, it’s definitely grown a lot. I would say that’s (because of help from) my teammates from last year and this year and the help of the coaches, too.”
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If she’s open on the perimeter, Brooks wants her to shoot it every time.
“She knows she has a green light. … She’s a big plus,” he said, “and I love coaching her every second of what she’s done.
“And I think she’s going to be a big part of our success continuing on.”
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky women’s basketball boosted by Amelia Hassett in Sweet 16 run