Kentucky women’s basketball (9-15, 2-8) dropped yet another conference bout Sunday after falling 61-44 to Texas A&M inside Rupp Arena, with the historic venue not seeing a home win since January 21.
The bout marked the third lowest scoring total for Kentucky this season and extended what is now a five-game losing streak in conference play, dropping the Cats to last in the SEC.
Texas A&M would net the first bucket of the contest, with the Cats retaliating shortly after and exchanging buckets with the Aggies to tie the score at five early in the first quarter.
The Aggies would follow the back-and-forth battle with a 10-0 run to open a double-digit lead with Texas A&M scoring leader on the season Endyia Rogers sinking five of the Aggies’ 15 opening points.
Wildcat senior Maddie Scherr would snap the Aggie run with a 3-pointer, with a free throw from senior Ajae Petty and a subsequent deep ball from senior Eniya Russell bringing Kentucky within three.
Another A&M bucket would put the Aggies up five heading into the second period, with another Wildcat surge bringing Kentucky within one possession halfway through the quarter.
“When we move the ball side-to-side and connect four or five passes, good things tend to happen,” head coach Kyra Elzy said. “Everyone’s trying to score, we’re trying to win.”
Kentucky would continue its run by way of its favorite weapon in Petty, whose team-high eight points and four rebounds in the half would see the score tied at 24 heading into the break.
Texas A&M would retake the lead quickly out of the half, securing a four-point advantage after a pair of buckets, with Petty shortening that lead to one after a basket and a subsequent made free throw.
“They got too many second chance points,” Scherr said. “It comes from defensive intensity, and we let it get out of control.”
The Wildcats would proceed to take their first lead of the half after a 3-pointer by sophomore Cassidy Rowe, but the Aggies would follow the Kentucky momentum with a 15-0 run of their own.
Heading into the final quarter with a 13-point deficit, the Wildcats would cut the Aggie lead to 11 after another 3-pointer from Rowe with Texas A&M proceeding to extend its lead back out to 17 shortly after.
“She’s a knock down shooter,” Elzy said regarding Rowe’s performance. “I have a lot of confidence in her, especially when she can just catch and shoot.”
Kentucky would continue to exchange buckets with the Aggies for the rest of regulation, but would never be able to get within single digits as it dropped its fifth conference game in a row, with neither Kentucky men’s nor women’s basketball having won a home game since January.
The Wildcats will look to break their losing streak when they head down to Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama, to take on the Auburn Tigers on Saturday, February 16, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. ET.
The contest will be streamed on the SEC Network.
