FINAL: Kentucky WBB falls to No. 12 LSU 78-69 in hard-fought road battle

With Dre’Una Edwards back in the lineup for Kentucky Women’s Basketball, her presence still wasn’t enough to gift her team a win.

On Sunday afternoon, the Wildcats (9-9; 2-6 in SEC) fell on the road in a hard-fought road battle against the No. 12 LSU Tigers (18-4, 6-3 in SEC) by a final score of 78-69. Edwards, who sat out the previous four games for UK due to suspension, finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and five turnovers before fouling out in the final minute.

Rhyne Howard and freshman Jada Walker led the way for Kentucky, dropping 23 and 21 points, respectively, as the two lone scoring options for the ‘Cats. UK shot 50 percent from the floor and 7-17 from beyond the arc, but turned the ball over 19 times and lost the battle on the offensive glass once again.

Final. pic.twitter.com/NC3JNiVzHZ

— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) January 30, 2022

As Kentucky has done in previous outings, the ‘Cats got off to a solid start. It was an early 11-7 lead for UK as Edwards finally made her first appearance since Jan. 15 around the 6:00 mark. But it wasn’t Edwards or even Howard who got rolling in the first quarter — that would be freshman Jada Walker, who added nine points on 3-3 shooting.

However, LSU quickly punched back, rattling off a 16-6 run to end the first frame and taking a 23-17 advantage heading into the second quarter. The Tigers would hold onto its slight lead until halfway through the period.

At the second media timeout, Kentucky managed to trim the LSU lead down to just two points at 28-26. Back-to-back jumpers courtesy of Howard and Walker tied the game at 31 as LSU went over five minutes without a made field goal. UK would head into the break in front, 34-33, as Walker dropped 15 first-half points. Howard added 11 points and six rebounds of her own.

LSU was fast to strike out of the break, though. A quick 6-0 Tigers run gave them a 39-34 lead and forced a UK timeout from head coach Kyra Elzy. But the brief pause would do the ‘Cats some good. Kentucky tied the game up at 39 and again at 48 before it finally got over the hump. UK would score the final five points of the third frame to take a 53-48 lead into the final quarter.

LSU struck first, quickly tying the game at 53 before taking the lead back from the ‘Cats to open the period. Kentucky always seemed to have an answer though, keeping the score tight down the stretch. UK trailed 61-60 at the 5:06 mark but the Tigers weren’t phased, taking a 69-63 lead with just two minutes left to play. At one point, LSU hit eight of nine shots to build its cushion.

Kentucky missed some much-needed shots in the closing possessions while LSU made enough to maintain the lead. When the final buzzer sounded, UK fell for the ninth time this season, losing by nine. Howard finished 23 points and 12 rebounds, moving into second place on the program’s all-time scoring list.