Kentucky Falls at No. 19 Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Junior Maci Morris scored 22 points and senior Makenzie Cann added 14, but the Kentucky women’s basketball team lost, 74-70, at No. 19 Texas A&M on Thursday night at Reed Arena.
 
Kentucky (8-8, 0-2 SEC) got 10 points and eight rebounds from senior Alyssa Rice, while Taylor Murray added seven points and six assists.
 
The Wildcats outscored the Aggies in the paint, 26-18, and had only nine turnovers in the game, compared with 12 for A&M. Kentucky also led in second-chance points, 11-9. The Wildcats were outstanding at the free throw line, hitting nine of their 10 attempts, but the Aggies converted 18 of their 22 shots at the line.
 
Kentucky led early, 5-4, before Texas A&M assembled a 7-0 run to lead 11-5. The Aggies would lead by as many as eight in the first period before Kentucky was able to cut the lead to 22-18 on a three-pointer by Jaida Roper with 54 seconds left in the quarter. The Aggies would lead 24-18 after one period.

In the second period, Kentucky began chipping away at the Texas A&M lead, and when Rice scored on a layup with 2:09 left in the half, the Wildcats were within one, at 33-32. The Aggies would extend the lead again, and they led 39-36 at the break. Morris led all scorers with 14 points in the half.
 
Early in the third period, Kentucky took a 41-40 lead on a three-pointer by Cann. Texas A&M took the lead back, and held it until Murray converted on a layup to give UK a 51-50 advantage with 2:59 remaining in the period. But the Aggies outscored the Cats 9-4 the rest of the period and led 59-55 after three.
 
Kentucky cut the lead to two early in the fourth period, but A&M extended its advantage with a 7-0 run. The Wildcats would within two, 72-70, with 9.7 seconds left in the game before the Aggies sealed the victory with a pair of free throws.
 
Kentucky returns to action on Sunday, as the Wildcats host Georgia at Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network+.