Kentucky Falls to Mississippi State in Overtime
Maddie Scherr scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists, but the Kentucky women’s basketball team lost, in overtime, to Mississippi State 77-74 on Thursday night at Rupp Arena.
The Cats got 15 points from Eniya Russell and 14 from Saniah Tyler. Ajae Petty had 11 points and 10 rebounds, recording her 12th double-double of the season.
Kentucky (9-13, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) got on the board first when Petty converted a layup off a Scherr pass. However, UK made just one of its first six shots from the floor and had four early turnovers. MSU also missed its first six shots, but the Bulldogs would eventually score six in a row to take a 6-2 advantage.
UK would tie the game at 8-8 on a Scherr jumper but MSU would lead 10-9 after one period of play.
The second quarter was tight early, but MSU would assemble a 9-2 run to take a 23-15 lead with 4:18 to play in the half. Kentucky would get back within five, 27-22, but the Bulldogs took a 29-22 lead into the break.
In the third quarter, the Cats trailed by nine early before a three from Scherr and a Tyler basket cut the MSU lead to 33-29. After the Bulldogs went up 35-29, the Cats went on a 9-2 run, capped by a Scherr three, to lead 38-37 with 4:10 left in the third.
The lead would seesaw back and forth between the teams for the remainder of the period, with two ties and three lead changes. The third quarter ended with MSU leading 47-45.
MSU led by four, 51-47, early in the fourth quarter before Kentucky went on an 11-2 run, sparked by seven points from Russell, to lead 58-53 with 4:43 remaining. MSU would get back within four, 61-57, with 2:27 to play. The Cats would lead 63-57 before MSU got hot from behind the arc, making three of four three-pointers and eventually taking a 66-64 lead.
After a Kentucky timeout, Russell drove to the basket and scored, tying the game at 66 apiece. The Bulldogs were unable to get a shot off before the horn and the game went to overtime.
In overtime, MSU would quickly establish a lead and would never trail. The Bulldogs’ lead would grow to as many as six and Kentucky would never be able to catch up.
Kentucky returns to action on Sunday, visiting Athens to take on Georgia. Tipoff from Stegeman Coliseum is at noon ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
