LEXINGTON, Ky. – Senior Janee Thompson recorded her third-career double-double on Sunday afternoon in front of 6,110 fans at Memorial Coliseum, as the No. 18 Kentucky women’s basketball team beat the LSU Tigers 70-58.
With the win, Kentucky ends a three-game skid and improves to 5-6 in the Southeastern Conference, while sporting a 16-6 overall record. The Tigers fall to 8-16 overall on the season, and 2-9 in the SEC. Kentucky has now won the last four meetings between the two sides in Lexington.
Thompson crossed into double-figure scoring for the 16th time this season, ending the day with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
UK came out on fire, shooting 56 percent from the floor in the first quarter en route to a 26-10 lead after the opening 10 minutes of play. The Wildcats 26 points were the most 1st-quarter points scored all season in league action.
After LSU pulled to within seven points at 29-22 with 1:37 remaining in the opening half, Kentucky closed the half on a 7-0 run thanks in part to five in a row from Thompson, to take the halftime lead at 37-22.
UK had another 20-point quarter coming out of the locker room, outscoring the Tigers 21-14 in the third period, shooting 8-of-11 from the floor. The Wildcats took its biggest lead of the game at that point, a 25-point advantage with 3:37 to go in the period. LSU would end the period down 22, at 58-36.
In the fourth period, LSU scored 12 of the first 14 points prompting a Kentucky timeout when the Tigers pulled to within 14 at 60-54 before Kentucky closed out the game in the final stages.
Kentucky will now enjoy its SEC bye week this upcoming week before returning to action on Sunday, Feb. 14 at Vanderbilt. The Wildcats will look to avenge a loss two weeks ago to the Commodores at 4 p.m. ET from Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville. The game will be shown live on the SEC Network.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, follow @UKHoopCats on Twitter and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
