Ajae Petty scored 23 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, but the Kentucky women’s basketball team lost to No. 24 Vanderbilt 95-73 on Thursday night at Rupp Arena.
For Petty, it was her 10th double-double of the season and her fourth in a row. The senior from Baltimore became the first Kentucky player to record a 20-20 (points and rebounds) game since Dec. 19, 1982, when UK Hall of Famer Valerie Still accomplished the feat against Charleston.
Kentucky (8-9, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) got 20 points from Maddie Scherr and 11 from Brooklynn Miles.
Kentucky scored the first five points of the game on a three from Scherr and a layup by Petty. However, Vanderbilt then ran off 15 consecutive points to take a 15-5 lead. Scherr stopped the run with a pair of free throws to get UK within eight. However, the Commodores would lead by as many as 12 in the first period and closed the quarter leading 23-13.
UK scored the first four points of the second period, on layups by Amiya Jenkins and Petty, to get within six, 23-17. However, Vanderbilt again responded, this time with a 10-2 run to lead 33-19. The Commodores would lead by as many as 15 points before UK closed the half on an 8-3 run to make it 44-34 at the break.
The Cats opened the third period with a 6-3 run to get within seven, 47-40. But Vanderbilt answered with a 20-4 run to take a 67-44 advantage. UK responded with five in a row but the ‘Dores would lead 74-53 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Kentucky went on a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to 77-62. But the Cats could get no closer.
Kentucky returns to action on Monday, facing top-ranked South Carolina in Columbia. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
