No. 14 Kentucky Falls at No. 16 North Carolina

Dazia Lawrence scored 17 points but No. 14 Kentucky lost its first game of the year, falling at No. 16 North Carolina 72-53 on Thursday night.

Amelia Hassett had 13 points and 13 rebounds for UK, while Georgia Amoore had 10 points and eight assists for the Cats.

The teams traded baskets early before North Carolina went on a 9-0 run to take an 11-2 lead. An Amoore basket ended the run but the Tar Heels would soon establish a double-digit lead. The Tar Heels would make seven of their first 10 shots from the floor, and eight of their first 12, to take a 21-6 advantage.

That’s when the Cats made their run. A pair of Lawrence free throws, a Clara Silva layup and threes from Hassett and Lawrence made up a 10-0 run that cut the UNC lead to 21-16, which was the score after one period of play.

Both teams struggled from the floor early in the second quarter. UK made one of its first six shots, while UNC made two of its first eight. The Cats would get within four on three occasions, including at 27-23 on an Amoore basket. However, the Tar Heels would finish the half on a 9-2 run and UNC lead 36-25 at the break.

The third quarter began in a similar fashion, with UK making just two of its first seven shots, while North Carolina made just one of its first seven. UNC scored the first three points of the third quarter but UK answered with seven in a row to make it 39-32. However, the Tar Heels scored the next four and would lead 50-39 after three quarters.

North Carolina scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to build a 16-point lead. However, UK got consecutive threes from Hassett to make it 55-45. UNC would score the next three, but the Cats would get a pair of threes from Lawrence to make it 60-51 with 5:52 to play. The Cats would get no closer.

Kentucky returns to action on Monday, hosting Queens inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.