{"id":682932,"date":"2026-03-27T21:48:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T21:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/682932\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T21:48:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T21:48:21","slug":"amelia-hassett-a-unicorn-for-kentucky-womens-basketball-in-ncaa-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/682932\/","title":{"rendered":"Amelia Hassett ‘a unicorn’ for Kentucky women’s basketball in NCAA run"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT WORTH, TX \u2014\u00a0Walking down a hallway in the labyrinthine corridors of Dickies Arena<\/a> just before his team took the floor for practice Friday morning, Kenny Brooks<\/a> said Amelia Hassett<\/a> is “a unicorn.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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In Hassett’s case, however, it couldn’t be more accurate.<\/p>\n

The numbers she’s posted for Kentucky’s women’s basketball<\/a> this season are without compare. Entering Saturday’s NCAA Tournament<\/a> Sweet 16 matchup against Texas<\/a>, Hassett has knocked down 98 3-pointers, the most in the SEC<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

To put in perspective how singular those figures are, consider this:<\/p>\n

So when Brooks dubs Hassett “a unicorn?”<\/p>\n

Believe him.<\/p>\n

“She’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached \u2014\u00a0and I’ve only had her for two years,” Brooks, who signed Hassett as a transfer from East Florida<\/a> 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.”<\/p>\n

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It amazes teammate (and fellow 3-point markswoman) Asia Boone<\/a>, who is right on Hassett’s heels with 94 triples.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“I think that’s very unique.”<\/p>\n

\"LEXINGTON,<\/p>\n

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)<\/p>\n

Hassett’s shot-blocking prowess always has been there; she also ranked in the SEC’s top 10 in that department in 2024-25.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Brooks recalled last season, he’d ask Hassett, “Who is the best shooter on the team?”<\/p>\n

She’d reply, “Georgia Amoore<\/a>,” the Wildcats<\/a>‘ since-departed point guard.<\/p>\n

Then, Brooks would ask her again.<\/p>\n

“She would answer my question with a question,” Brooks said, “She would say, ‘Me?'”<\/p>\n

Over time, that sheepish reply started to shift.<\/p>\n

“(Last) summer she came in and I said, ‘Who is the best shooter on the team?'” Brooks said. “And emphatically \u2014 with an exclamation point \u2014 she said, ‘Me!'”<\/p>\n

Hassett didn’t want to focus on her individual stats. She’s just thankful her coaches and teammates never lost faith.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

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If she’s open on the perimeter, Brooks wants her to shoot it every time.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“And I think she’s going to be a big part of our success continuing on.”<\/p>\n

Reach Kentucky<\/a> men\u2019s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky women’s basketball boosted by Amelia Hassett in Sweet 16 run<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT WORTH, TX \u2014\u00a0Walking down a hallway in the labyrinthine corridors of Dickies Arena just before his team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682933,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3723],"tags":[86675,7,217,86676,52286,231,772,1544],"class_list":["post-682932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-basketball","tag-amelia-hassett","tag-basketball","tag-college-basketball","tag-hassett","tag-kenny-brooks","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-basketball","tag-ncaab"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116303345739905376","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}