Kentucky women’s basketball (9-14, 2-7) dropped its fourth straight game on Sunday afternoon, losing to the Georgia Bulldogs (11-11, 2-7) 72-65 inside of Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia.
Due to the result, the Wildcats are now 0-7 on the road this season as they are yet to win a game outside of big blue territory.
Kentucky entered the “Peach State” 1-4 in its last five with hopes of taking advantage of the struggling Georgia team, which entered the contest on a seven-game losing streak.
In an effort to win against the Bulldogs, Kentucky rolled out a starting lineup consisting of Brooklynn Miles, Ajae Petty, Amiya Jenkins, Maddie Scherr and Emma King.
Right off the start, a turnover by Jenkins gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 advantage as De’Mauri Flournoy converted a layup. That was one of only two first quarter turnovers that the Wildcats surrendered, a positive look as giveaways were something that the team has struggled with.
Kentucky gripped a controlling lead in the first quarter, ending it with a 22-7 lead funded by sophomore Saniah Tyler, who finished the first ten minutes with 11 points.
“I thought our start was really good. I thought we were locked in, focused,” Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy said.
The two teams then traded spots in the second quarter as the Bulldogs scored 23 points while keeping the Wildcats’ second quarter total to eight.
While retaining those 23 points, Georgia closed out the first half on a 15-0 run as Kentucky did not score from the 5:35 mark on, going 0-12 on its last 12 field goal attempts.
Out of halftime, Georgia picked up right where it left off, scoring ten points over 2:33.
Kentucky then went on a small 5-0 run, working its way back into contention, ending the third quarter down by just two points with the scoring being 47-45.
The fourth and final quarter saw back-and-forth scoring until a little over halfway through when Georgia went on another small tear, scoring five straight points and evaporating Kentucky’s chances.
The final buzzer sounded off and the Wildcats lost once more, finishing the game shooting 6-13 (46.2%) from beyond the three-point arch and 13-20 (65%) from the free-throw line.
Kentucky now sits in last place in the SEC standings, as Georgia overtakes the second to last spot while Kentucky falls to the bottom.
The Wildcats look ahead to Sunday, Feb. 11, when the Texas A&M Aggies visit Rupp Arena. The Cats have a much-needed seven day rest at their fingertips in hopes of regrouping before continuing to fight for better seeding in the SEC Tournament.
