FINAL: Kentucky WBB loses to Vanderbilt 95-73 despite Ajae Petty's 20-20 double-double

Kentucky women’s basketball came into Thursday’s game looking to upset the 15-1 Vanderbilt Commodores and get back over .500 overall.

This was a chance for the Wildcats to regain the momentum they had lost against Tennessee following a four-game winning streak. Was the second half of the Tennessee game just a skid? Do the ‘Cats finally have it figured out? They had a chance to prove that against a surging Vanderbilt team. However, Kentucky would fall to 8-9 (1-2 SEC) on the season following their 95-73 loss to Vanderbilt at Rupp Arena.

Senior Ajae Petty put on a show as usual, recording her 10th double-double of the season (and fourth straight). The 6-3 forward scored 23 points on 9-21 (43%) shooting and grabbed 21 rebounds in the loss. She also added two steals and two blocks.

Petty’s 23-21 performance was just the third 20-20 stat line in program history and first since 1982. Only Kentucky great Valerie Still has achieved it before, doing so twice.

Vanderbilt’s size and defensive tenacity didn’t seem to bother Petty, which is a great sign for the future. While she didn’t face South Carolina and LSU-type bigs on Thursday, she did prove that it will take a lot more than some bumping around and ball-swiping to stop her.

Then, Maddie Scherr continued to emerge from her prior offensive struggles as she scored 20 points and dished out three assists. On a team that struggles with consistency and flow offensively, Scherr has proven to be a vital, vital piece to UK’s success. Kyra Elzy will need to see her continue this pace while also hoping some of Scherr’s teammates can follow suit. Otherwise, Kentucky may see more disappointing results like they did against Vanderbilt.

Final. pic.twitter.com/JUpsAz5V6j

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) January 12, 2024

This was an ugly one from the get-go. Vanderbilt found scoring opportunities and cashed in on them while Kentucky struggled to get anything set up. It seemed like there was a massive hangover from Kentucky’s crushing loss to Tennessee. Nothing was going Kentucky’s way. Vanderbilt was nearing a 20-point lead to close to the first half, although Kentucky would go on a mini-run to make it just a 44-34 deficit after two quarters of play.

But the ‘Cats weren’t able to build off of that momentum in the second half.

When you look at the stats from this game, it’s kind of hard to see where it went wrong for Kentucky. Both teams had similar numbers. So, what happened? For starters, every 50/50 ball seemed to go the other way. Kentucky couldn’t catch a break anywhere. Then, the only place where Vanderbilt really dominated Kentucky on the stat sheet was in assists. The Commodores cashed in on 29 assists to Kentucky’s 11. Plus, shooting 58% from the field helps if you’re Vanderbilt.

However, the bow was put on this one when Vanderbilt went on a 17-2 run as the third quarter came to a close. Again, nothing went Kentucky’s way. Every bounce went Vanderbilt’s, and that’s prone to happen sometimes throughout the course of a five-month season.

It only gets tougher from here. Next up, Kentucky will play their toughest game of the season against undefeated No. 1 South Carolina (4-0) on the road. The game will tip off at 7:00 ET on the SEC Network on Monday.