Kentucky women’s basketball (8-8, 1-1) was defeated by the Tennessee Lady Volunteers (9-5, 2-0) 87-69 on Sunday afternoon inside Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Kentucky traveled down to Knoxville riding a four-game win streak with its last loss dating back to Dec. 10 against Louisville. The Wildcats had most recently battled on Jan. 4 in Lexington where they opened up conference play by defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks 73-63.
Tennessee was in the same boat as Kentucky as it also entered on a four-game win streak. The Lady Vols also had a solid start to conference play as they defeated Auburn on the road 75-67 on Jan. 4.
Looking to earn the win, Kentucky rolled out a starting lineup consisting of Brooklynn Miles, Cassidy Rowe, Maddie Scherr, Emma King and Ajae Petty.
Tennessee began the scoring with a bucket from Karoline Striplin right off the tip, but two possessions later Scherr got Kentucky on the board, tying it at two.
The two battled closely and the first quarter ended 18-14 in favor of the Wildcats, a significantly better start than their last game against the Razorbacks where they only scored six points in the first quarter.
Early on in the second quarter, Rowe sank two 3-pointers for the Wildcats, sparking an offensive explosion that boosted Kentucky to score 31 second quarter points.
Kentucky concluded the first half shooting 50% from the field while going 5-8 from beyond the three-point arc, resulting in a 49-39 halftime lead.
Straight out of the break, Tennessee made adjustments and scored 12 points in just over four minutes, forcing Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy to call her first timeout of the half.
Coming out of the timeout, Tennessee continued to throw punches and, despite Kentucky’s efforts to hang on, the Lady Volunteers eventually gained the lead with 2:25 to go in the quarter.
“I really thought that in the third quarter we let our offense affect our defense,” Elzy said.
The home court advantage showed in Knoxville as 8,823 electrified fans soared to their feet as Tennessee continued to dominate, causing Kentucky to appear frustrated and lack offense even more.
The third quarter ended 66-60 in favor of the home side with Kentucky going 4-17 from the field while Tennessee took advantage of the collapse and tacked on 27 points.
As the fourth quarter unfolded, Kentucky’s offense stayed transparent as the Cats finished the fourth quarter shooting 4-16 from the field and 29-75 as a whole.
Kentucky scored 31 points in the second quarter but was only able to add on 20 second half points which ultimately spiraled into the lopsided UK defeat.
“We have a lot to learn from, but we didn’t lose this one for the lack of heart and hustle,” Elzy said.
The Wildcats have some time to learn and build off of their loss before Thursday, Jan. 11, when the Vanderbilt Commodores visit Lexington.
