No. 8 Kentucky Falls at Ole Miss on Monday
Teonni Key had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, but the eighth-ranked Kentucky women’s basketball team lost at Ole Miss 66-57 on Monday night in Oxford.
Clara Strack broke the Kentucky school record for blocked shots in a game with eight. That record was previously held by DeNisha Stallworth, who had seven blocks against Texas A&M in 2013. Strack also had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Georgia Amoore had 15 points and five assists for the Cats.
Kentucky (19-3, 8-2 Southeastern Conference) got on the board first when Amoore drove in for an uncontested layup. After an Ole Miss basket tied the game, Amoore scored again and the Cats led 4-2. After the Rebels scored four in a row, UK got buckets from Dazia Lawrence, Strack, another from Lawrence and a three from Key. The 9-0 run gave the Cats a 13-6 lead.
Ole Miss (16-7, 7-4) would respond by scoring the next six points to get within one, but an Amoore three extended the UK lead to 16-12. After a pair of Ole Miss free throws, the Cats went on a 6-2 run to lead 22-16. The Rebels would score the final basket of the period, but the Cats led 22-18 after one quarter.
The Rebels scored the first two points of the second period before Strack scored at the basket to make it 24-20. An Amoore steal and basket extended the UK lead to 26-20. After a Rebels’ basket, the teams traded free throws and UK led 27-23.
Key scored at the basket to extend the lead to 29-23. After two more Rebels’ free throws, Key hit a three and the Cats led 32-25. Ole Miss would make two more free throws before a Saniah Tyler layup made it 34-27 Cats. The Rebels scored four in a row but Strack hit a three and Kentucky took a 37-31 lead into the half.
In the third quarter, Ole Miss scored first before Key converted a layup to make it 39-33. The Rebels scored again but Key answered again and it was 41-35. After another Ole Miss basket, UK got a bucket from Lawrence and another from Key to lead 45-37.
The Rebels would score the next six before a Strack layup made it 47-43 Cats late in the third quarter. But Ole Miss scored the final five points of the period and took a 48-47 lead through three quarters.
In the final stanza, the Rebels scored the first four points to lead 52-47. An Amoore basket cut it to 52-49 but and Ole Miss three extended the Rebels’ lead to 55-49. Amoore scored again to cut the deficit to 55-51. After the Rebels scored again, Strack scored on consecutive possessions to make it 57-55 with 3:13 to play. However, Ole Miss scored the next eight points to put the game away.
Kentucky returns to action on Thursday, hosting No. 3 Texas inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN2.
