No. 18 Kentucky women’s basketball (18-5, 5-4 SEC) broke its three game losing streak with a 93-73 victory over Arkansas (11-12, 0-8 SEC) on the road.
Arkansas held a 46-45 lead with 3:22 remaining in the third quarter. Kentucky stepped it up on both ends for the final 13 minutes of action to pick up a dominant 20 point win.
Kentucky returned Teonni Key to the starting lineup after she missed six games with an arm injury, the Wildcats went 2-4 in her absence. The team’s struggles without Key showed her importance. If that wasn’t clear enough, Key’s performance in this game made her value undeniable.
Key finished with a double-double, her fourth of the season, with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Benefitting from the return of her front court partner, Clara Strack had one of the best games of her career.
Strack recorded her 11th double-double of the season. She finished with a career-high 33 points and 15 rebounds, just one rebound short of her career high.
The Wildcats dominated the boards, out-rebounding Arkansas 51-24. 18 of those 51 rebounds were offensive, which Kentucky converted into 18 second chance points.
Kentucky shot 33-68 (48.5%) from the field and 8-22 (36.4%) from 3-point range in the game. The Razorbacks shot 24-59 (40.7%) from the field and 10-26 (38.5%) from behind the arc.
The Wildcats got out to a 5-0 lead in the first two minutes, after a Strack mid-range jumpshot and a successful and-one in the fast break by Tonie Morgan.
Arkansas responded with three 3-pointers in four possessions to take a 9-8 lead, as the Wildcats went scoreless for over three minutes.
The Wildcats ended the scoring drought with a 7-0 run as Arkansas went scoreless for three minutes, giving the Cats a 15-11 lead.
Arkansas put together a 6-2 run in the last minute of the first quarter, leaving the game tied at 17-17 heading into the second quarter.
Key had a very strong first quarter in her return, leading the team with four points and four rebounds.
The Wildcats shot 7-17 (41.2%) from the field and 2-7 (28.6%) on 3-pointers in the first quarter. Arkansas shot 7-15 (46.7%) from the field and 3-6 (50%) from behind the arc.
The Wildcats found a rhythm down low in the first quarter, with 14 of 17 points coming from the paint.
The Wildcats began the second quarter with a small run as well, this time breaking the tie with a 4-0 run in the first minute.
Late in the second quarter, both teams went over two minutes without scoring. The Wildcats missed four straight shots while Arkansas missed five straight.
Kentucky broke its scoring drought before Arkansas, with the Cats putting together a 6-0 run as the Razorbacks scoring drought reached four minutes.
The Wildcats held a 34-28 lead at the end of the first half.
The Cats shot 13-36 (36.1%) from the field and 2-9 (22.2%) from 3-point range in the first half. Arkansas shot 11-29 (37.9%) from the field and 3-12 (25%) on 3-pointers.
Strack had one of her best halves of the season, leading the team with 15 points and nine rebounds on 7-12 (58.3%) shooting.
Kentucky dominated the boards in the first half. The Cats out-rebounded Arkansas 27-15, with 11 being offensive rebounds that turned into seven second chance points.
Morgan was sent the the bench after picking up her third foul with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Kentucky went scoreless for nearly three minutes, which allowed the Razorbacks to take their first lead of the half.
Kentucky rattled off an 8-0 run in under 30 seconds after multiple offensive rebounds on missed free throws. This gave the Wildcats a 53-46 lead and forced an Arkansas timeout.
Kentucky continued its run after the timeout, coming out with a 7-3 run to close out the third quarter. Taking an 11 point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Cats recorded 26 points in the third quarter after scoring 17 in each of the first two. Kentucky shot 8-19 (42.1%) from the field and 2-8 (25%) on 3-pointers. Arkansas also had its highest scoring quarter with 21 points, the Razorbacks shot 4-12 (33.3%) from the field and 3-6 (50%) from 3-point range.
Both teams shot a lot of free throws in the third quarter, with each doubling its first half total. Kentucky shot 8-15 (53.3%) from the line in the third quarter, Arkansas shot 10-14 (71.4%) from the line.
The Cats began the fourth quarter with a 9-4 run in the first two minutes, giving Kentucky its largest lead of the contest at 16 points.
Kentucky continued to build on this lead throughout the fourth quarter, outscoring Arkansas 33-24 in the quarter. The result was a 93-73 win by the Cats.
With this win, the Cats have extended their lead in the all time series to 29-16. Kentucky holds a 12-8 lead in games played in Fayetteville, Arkansas, winning three of the last four.
The Wildcats will be back inside of Historic Memorial Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 5, taking on Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. ET.
