Kentucky women’s basketball (8-10, 1-3) dropped its third game in a row on Monday night as it was defeated by the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (16-0, 4-0) 98-36 on the road.

Kentucky entered the game on the back of a 95-73 loss to Vanderbilt on Jan. 11 while the Gamecocks entered the game off of a 81-57 win at Missouri on Jan. 11.

In an effort to win, Kentucky rolled out a starting lineup consisting of Ajae Petty, Cassidy Rowe, Brooklynn Miles, Maddie Scherr and Emma King.

South Carolina took a quick 12-6 lead in the game, forcing Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy to call a timeout as her team started just 3-12 from the field.

After the timeout, Kentucky hung around, ending the first quarter down four as South Carolina led 17-13.

The South Carolina offense exploded in the second quarter while Kentucky’s overall game floundered on both sides as the Wildcats were outscored 29-8. 

The first half ended 46-21 in favor of the Gamecocks with Kentucky turning the ball over nine times while also shooting 26% from the field.

The third quarter shadowed the second quarter as South Carolina jumped out to a 10-0 run, forcing a Kentucky timeout with the Cats now down 56-23.

The Wildcats scored just 11 points in the third quarter while South Carolina continued to press the pedal, making a 47-point difference in the score as Kentucky headed into the fourth quarter down 79-32.

Similar to the other three quarters, Kentucky was dominated on all aspects of the court, resulting in another frustrating performance which led it to its third straight loss.

The Wildcats shot just 24.6% from the field the entire game and turned the ball over 24 times, which played a key factor in the loss.

The Wildcats look to bounce back on Jan. 21 when they play the Missouri Tigers at 2 p.m. inside of Rupp Arena.