LEXINGTON – January 26, 2023
Robyn Benton scored 19 points but the Kentucky women’s basketball team fell to Auburn 71-68 on Thursday night at Memorial Coliseum.
Kentucky (9-11, 1-7 SEC) got 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots from Maddie Scherr. Jada Walker had 14 points for UK.
The Cats struggled with turnovers on Thursday, committing 20 miscues that led to 32 Auburn points. Meanwhile, the Tigers turned it over 16 times, leading to 18 UK points.
Kentucky opened the game by scoring the first four points to grab an early lead. Auburn would battle back to tie the game at six, eight and 10. The Cats answered by scoring six in a row, keyed by an Emma King three, to lead 16-10. The Cats would hold an 18-15 lead after one quarter.
The Cats scored the first two points of the second period on a Benton basket, but then saw Auburn turn up the defense on its way to an 11-0 run that gave the Tigers a 26-20 lead. However, the Cats would score seven of the game’s next nine points to cut the Auburn advantage to one, 28-27.
Kentucky would eventually take the lead, 31-30, on an Adebola Adeyeye. However, the lead lasted just 16 seconds. The Cats would tie the game at 33 and 35 but Auburn would hold a 38-35 lead at the break.
Auburn extended the lead early in the third quarter, scoring the first four points to lead 42-35. Kentucky answered with an 8-2 run, six of which were by Scherr, to get within one, 44-43. But Auburn had the answered with 11 consecutive points to lead 55-43. The Cats would close the period on a 6-2 run but still trailed 59-50 with 10 minutes left to play.
Kentucky spent the entire fourth quarter trying to chip into the Auburn lead. The Cats would get within two on four occasions, including on a pair of Walker free throws with 40 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Kentucky forced an Auburn turnover with 15.5 seconds left, giving the Cats one possession to tie or take the lead. But the Cats failed to get a shot off and came up just short.
Kentucky returns to action on Sunday, hosting Missouri at Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
| 1ST PERIOD | 2ND PERIOD | 3RD PERIOD | 4TH PERIOD | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn | 15 | 23 | 21 | 12 | 71 |
| Kentucky | 18 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 68 |
| AUBURN | KENTUCKY | |
|---|---|---|
| FG% | 45.80% | 42.10% |
| 3-Pt FG% | 28.57% | 25.00% |
| FT% | 75.00% | 72.70% |
| TREB | 30 | 36 |
| TO | 16 | 20 |
| STL | 11 | 6 |
