No. 16 Kentucky Falls to No. 7 Maryland in Puerto Rico
Tonie Morgan scored 22 points and dished out eight assists, but the 16th-ranked Kentucky women’s basketball team fell to No. 7 Maryland 74-66 on Wednesday in the Puerto Rico Shootout.
Asia Boone came off the bench to score 13 points, while Amelia Hassett had 10.
Kentucky (7-1) scored first on two Jordan Obi free throws but Maryland answered with a 10-0 run. A Boone basket stopped the run and got the Cats within six. After the Terps scored four in a row, Hassett scored on a fast break layup, then Teonni Key scored to make it 14-8.
After two Maryland free throws, Morgan scored to make it 16-10. The Terps answered with a three and a pair of free throws to lead by 11 before an Obi layup cut the deficit to 21-12, which would be the score after one period.
Hassett started the scoring in the second quarter with a three to get UK within six. After a Maryland basket, Morgan hit a three to make it 23-18. After Maryland scored four in a row, Boone banked in a three to make it 27-21.
Maryland (8-0) scored five in a row before Lexi Blue scored and Morgan hit another three to cut the Maryland lead to 32-26. The Terps hit another three before Clara Strack scored underneath to get UK within seven. Maryland would lead 39-28 at the half.
Key scored the first basket of the third quarter but Maryland ran off five straight points to lead 44-30. After an Obi layup, Maryland scored eight in a row to lead 52-32. After Boone hit another three, the Terps got a three of their own to lead by 20 again.
Strack scored, then Hassett hit another three and Strack added a three of her own to make it 55-43. However, Maryland closed the period on a 5-2 run and led 60-45 after three quarters.
Kentucky started the fourth quarter with a 6-2 run to get within 11 points, 62-51. Maryland would get a three-point play, but Boone and Morgan hit back-to-back triples to cut the lead into single digits, 65-57.
After two Maryland free throws, Boone scored again to get the Cats within eight. However, the Terps hit a three to lead 70-59 with 2:10 to play. Morgan hit a three to get UK within eight with 1:17 remaining. Maryland missed its first two free throws of the game and Morgan scored on a layup with 48 seconds remaining to make it 70-64. However, the Cats would get no closer.
Kentucky returns to action on Friday, playing Morgan State in the Puerto Rico Shootout. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on FloSports.
