No. 14 Kentucky women’s basketball (21-5, 10-4 SEC) suffered a heartbreaking 65-58 loss to No.7 LSU (27-2, 12-2 SEC).

The Wildcats’ dominant first half wasn’t enough to make up for a disastrous third quarter that saw a 12-point halftime lead evaporate.

Before the game, Kentucky held its senior day ceremony to honor Georgia Amoore and Dazia Lawrence. The two were celebrated and embraced by a sold-out crowd at Historic Memorial Coliseum.

“These two have been so valuable to me, and to this program,” Kentucky Head Coach Kenny Brooks said. “They are a big reason why we have the culture that we have already.”

Both teams got out to a slow start with no points being scored in the first two minutes until Amelia Hassett put the Wildcats on the board. This score kicked off a 6-0 Kentucky run to begin the game.

LSU followed with its first points of the contest after 3.5 minutes. This sparked a run that cut the Wildcat lead to 8-6 heading into the media timeout.

Both teams shot under 28% and recorded over five turnovers in the first quarter. Kentucky shot just 1-11 (9.1%) from three, but forced turnovers and free throws that allowed for a 14-10 Kentucky lead after one quarter.

The Wildcats picked it up on offense in the second quarter, getting out to a 14-6 run leading into the media timeout.

Lawrence kicked off the Wildcats’ second quarter scoring with a layup for her fifth point of the game. This point marked the 1,500th career point for Lawrence.

Kentucky didn’t slow down after the timeout, going on an 8-4 run thanks to Amoore scoring on three consecutive possessions.

The Wildcats outscored LSU 24-14 in the second quarter to take a 38-26 lead into halftime.

Kentucky shot just 14-39 (35.9%) and 5-22 (22.7%) from three in the first half, but held LSU to 32% with 11 fewer shot attempts. This is a result of the Wildcats capitalizing on LSU’s 10 first-half turnovers, scoring 10 points off turnovers.

The Tigers nearly erased the strong first half from Kentucky just three minutes into the third quarter. LSU came out of the break with a 10-3 run that cut the Kentucky lead to five.

Kentucky held LSU scoreless for two minutes to end the Tigers’ run. However, the Wildcats couldn’t find a remedy for their shooting struggles.

LSU took full advantage of the Wildcats’ struggles and took its first lead of the day. This forced a Kentucky timeout just 90 seconds after the media timeout.

The Tigers were unfazed by the timeout and rounded out the third quarter with a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 49-45.

It was a nightmare third quarter for the Wildcats, being outscored 23-6 to forfeit the comfortable halftime lead.

Kentucky shot 2-13 (15.4%) in the third quarter, and the Tigers shot 47% with eight more attempts. The discrepancy is a result of LSU outrebounding UK 15-6 in the quarter.

Neither team had a good start to the fourth quarter; LSU had the only basket through three minutes. This led to a timeout for the Tigers.

Kentucky scored on four straight possessions after the timeout, resulting in an 8-0 run. This gave Kentucky its lead back.

Kentucky continued to score following the timeout and stayed within one possession, which lasted until LSU hit a three to take a four-point lead with 48 seconds remaining.

The Cats turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, forcing them into intentionally fouling. The LSU shooter missed the second free throw, but Kentucky failed to get the rebound, resulting in two more shots that put the Cats behind 64-58 with 25 seconds remaining.

Amoore missed the 3-pointer on the next possession to seal the Wildcats’ destiny, ultimately being out-executed late in the game to fall 65-58.

“Down the stretch, they made the play they needed to make, and we didn’t,” Brooks said.

The Wildcats shot 8-28 (28%) and 1-14 (7.1%) from three in the second half. They were also outrebounded 27-15, which allowed the more efficient LSU offense to take 10 more shots in the second half.

“LSU is probably the best rebounding team in the country… we did a really good job in the first half,” Brooks said. “They just got loose in the second half, they had a little bit more determination.”

What stands out most about the Wildcats’ performance is the 6-36 (16.7%) shooting from three, also allowing 20 LSU free throw attempts. It’s nearly impossible to overcome those struggles and beat a team of LSU’s caliber.

Amoore ended with 16 points, which is a constant between all UK losses: All five losses came from games in which Amoore scored less than 16 points.

Even with Amoore’s struggles, she was the leading scorer. Clara Silva was the only other Wildcat to reach double digits with 12.

Despite a poor performance, Kentucky hung around until the last minute against a top-10 team. While the struggles are nothing to celebrate, playing a close game in spite is a good sign with the postseason just two games away.

Kentucky returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 27, hosting Tennessee at 7 p.m. ET. This will be the last regular season game in Historic Memorial Coliseum this year, though Kentucky may have the opportunity to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament if the Cats are seeded as a top-16 team. The game will be streamed live on the SEC Network.