Kentucky Falls to Minnesota on Wednesday

Playing shorthanded once again due to injuries, the Kentucky women’s basketball team fell to Minnesota 76-57 on Wednesday night at Rupp Arena.

Defending Southeastern Conference Player of the Week Ajae Petty had another big performance for the Cats on Wednesday. The senior from Baltimore had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Fellow senior Eniya Russell was Kentucky’s other double-figure scorer with 15 points. Russell added seven rebounds and five assists.

Kentucky scored first on a Russell basket and the Cats had a 4-3 lead early before Minnesota ran off seven points in a row to lead 10-4. UK responded by scoring the next seven. The teams would exchange the lead four more times before the end of the period but a pair of Russell free throws gave Kentucky a 17-16 lead after one period.

Minnesota opened the second period on an 11-3 run to take a 27-20 advantage. The Cats would score the next six, including a three from Jordy Griggs. The game was tight throughout the remainder of the first half, but the Cats scored the last four points, on a layup from Petty and a jumper in the lane by Emma King, to hold a 38-36 lead at the half.

The Golden Gophers came out of the locker room hot, scoring the first 11 points of the third quarter to take a 47-38 advantage. Minnesota would stretch the lead to double digits, 50-40, before Kentucky scored six in a row. However, the Gophers would lead 56-49 with one quarter remaining.

Minnesota opened the fourth quarter on a 16-1 run to put the game away. The Golden Gophers would lead by as many as 23 points before settling for the 19-point victory.

Kentucky returns to action on Sunday, visiting the Derby City to face Louisville. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the ACC Network.