Kentucky Loses at Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday

Amiya Jenkins scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds but the Kentucky women’s basketball team lost to Florida Gulf Coast University 59-48 on Sunday in Fort Myers, Florida.

Ajae Petty had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Cats. No other Wildcat scored more than four points.

Kentucky (2-2) was again without star guard Maddie Scherr, who continues to deal with an ankle injury. Her status remains day-to-day.

FGCU opened the game on a 7-0 run, hitting three of its first five shots from the floor. Meanwhile, the Cats turned the ball over twice and had not attempted a field goal when they called a timeout early. FGCU would lead 11-0 before Kentucky got a basket from Amiya Jenkins with 5:49 left in the first period. Jenkins then hit a three to cut it to 11-5. But the Cats trailed 18-7 after one period.

Kentucky scored the first points of the second period, on a Petty basket, to get within nine at 18-9. But FGCU scored the next five and would hold a double-digit lead for the remainder of the half. The Eagles went to the locker room with a 30-19 advantage. Jenkins led Kentucky with nine points in the first half.

FGCU opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run to take a 42-21 lead. The Cats would trail 44-23 before going on an 8-2 run to get within 46-31. But FGCU would score the next seven points and would hold a 55-31 lead through three periods.

Kentucky would rally in the fourth quarter, running off 13 points in a row to get within 11 points, 55-44, with 5:40 to play. FGCU would score the next four points to extend the lead to 59-44. Kentucky scored the last four points to provide the final margin.

The Cats return to action on Thursday in the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands, facing N.C. State. Tipoff is set for 3:15 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ESPN Plus.