At the Buzzer: No. 16 Kentucky women’s basketball goes winless in series against No. 5 Vanderbilt, dropping game two 81-79 – Kentucky Kernel

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No. 16 Kentucky women’s basketball (20-8, 7-7 SEC) lost its second game of the season against No. 5 Vanderbilt (25-3, 11-3 SEC), falling 81-79.
Kentucky spread out the load on offense, with all five starters finishing in double-digit scoring.
Clara Strack led with 17 points on 7 for 15 (46.6%) shooting, also grabbing seven rebounds and blocking four shots.
Tonie Morgan (10), Teonni Key (10), Asia Boone (13) and Amelia Hassett (15) were the four others to reach double digits.
Vanderbilt was the opposite, with nearly 70% of the Commodores scoring coming from their starting guard pairing.
Mikayla Blakes finished with a game-high 35 points on 11 for 22 shooting, she also grabbed five boards and dished out three assists.
Aubrey Galvan scored 20 points on 9 for 17 shooting, with five assists.
The game was tied at 77-77 with one minute remaining. Vanderbilt out-executed Kentucky to pull out a two point win.
Both teams had a solid offensive outing that resulted in a high-scoring affair. Kentucky shot 46.9% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point range. Vanderbilt shot 47.7% from the field and 29.2% on 3-pointers.
This game was close in almost every stat category, the biggest disparity between the two teams was Vanderbilt’s 39-33 edge on the glass.
A pair of free throws from Key and a transition 3-pointer by Boone gave Kentucky a 5-0 lead a minute into the game.
Hassett made 3-pointers on the Wildcats next two possessions to pull ahead by seven points.
Kentucky then mounted a 7-2 run to take a 10 point lead after four minutes of play.
The Wildcats made seven of their first 12 shot attempts to hold a 20-12 lead seven and a half minutes into the first quarter.
The Commodores mounted a 7-0 run to pull back within five points.
Vanderbilt made a 3-pointer before forcing a five second violation on the Wildcats inbound. Another 3-pointer capped off a 6-0 run in 15 seconds to tie the game at 24-24.
Key got a layup to fall, breaking the tie and sending UK into the second quarter with a 26-24 lead.
Both teams came to play on the offensive end. Kentucky shot 9 for 17 (52.9%) from the field and 4 for 8 (50%) from 3-point range in the first quarter. Vanderbilt shot 11 of 18 (61.1%) from the field and 2 of 6 (33.3%) from behind the arc.
Blakes led Vanderbilt in the first quarter with 10 points.
The Wildcats first-quarter scoring was far more balanced, with Key, Hassett and Boone each scoring six points.
Kentucky rattled off a 5-0 run to begin the second quarter, taking a 31-24 lead.
Vanderbilt responded with a 4-0 run of its own to pull back within three points.
Kaelyn Carroll drained a 3-pointer from the corner to put Kentucky ahead 41-37.
Carroll hit another 3-pointer that gave the Cats a four point lead with a minute and a half until halftime.
Blakes hit two free throws to round off her 17-point first half, as Kentucky took a narrow 46-44 lead into halftime.
Both teams scored 20 points in the second quarter.
Kentucky shot 17 of 34 (50%) from the field and 7 of 20 (35%) on 3-pointers in the first half. Vanderbilt shot 18 of 34 (52.9%) from the field and 6 of 15 (40%) from behind the arc.
Blakes and Galvan carried the Commodores offense in the first half, the pair combined for 31 of Vanderbilt’s 44 first-half points.
The Wildcats 3-point threats thrived in the first half, with Boones 10 first-half points leading the team, just ahead of Hassett’s nine points.
Both teams had 16 rebounds in the first half, with the exact same offensive/defensive split. Each team even had six second chance points.
Vanderbilt tied the game on the first possession of the second half, Boone responded with another 3-pointer on the next possession to regain the lead.
Galvan drained a 3-pointer to put Vanderbilt on top 52-51, the Commodores first lead of the game.
Strack snagged an offensive board then converted the 3-point play on the putback, putting Kentucky back on top 55-53.
Strack went coast-to-coast after grabbing a steal, finishing with a transition layup to give the Cats a 59-57 lead.
Key sank a pull up jumper on the possession before Morgan got a mid-range pull up to fall. Strack converted a layup on the following possession, capping off a 6-0 run that gave Kentucky a 65-59 lead.
Galvan drove the lane and came away with a layup right before time expired. This sent Kentucky into the fourth quarter with a 65-61 lead.
Both teams carried the efficient scoring of the first half through the break, despite the third quarter being the lowest scoring to that point.
Kentucky shot 8 for 16 (50%) from the field and made 1 of 2 (50%) 3-point attempts in the third quarter. Vanderbilt shot 6 of 12 (50%) from the field in the quarter.
Strack had 10 third-quarter points on 4 for 6 shooting, after scoring just seven points in the first half.
Kentucky outrebounded Vandy 9-6 in the third quarter and managed six second chance points.
Both teams had a slow start in the fourth, relatively to the first three quarters. Vanderbilt mounted a 5-2 run in the first two minutes, pulling the Commodores back within one point.
Blakes drained two free throws to hit 31 points on the game. This gave Vanderbilt a 70-69 lead.
Key hit two free throws on the next possession to put Kentucky back on top.
Hassett hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game, giving the Cats a 74-72 with five minutes to play.
Another 3-pointer by Hassett broke the tie, giving Kentucky a 77-74 lead with 3 minutes remaining.
Vanderbilt responded with a 3-pointer of its own to tie the game again.
Blakes went one for two from the line, giving Vanderbilt a one point lead with 0:53 on the clock.
Morgan got a layup to fall on the next possession, putting the Wildcats ahead 79-78 with 0:33 remaining.
Galvan pulled up from the free throw line and drained the shot. With this, Vanderbilt pulled ahead by one point with eight seconds on the clock.
The ball went to Strack on the inbound, she committed a turnover to effectively end the game.
There was still 0.7 seconds on the clock after the Wildcats foul.
Blakes made the first before missing the second on purpose.
This left it up to a full-court inbound which was incomplete as time expired.
Vanderbilt ended up coming away with an 81-79 win.
This was the 63rd all-time meeting between Kentucky and Vanderbilt, with Vandy leading the series 35-28. Vanderbilt also holds a 19-9 lead in games played in Nashville.
The Wildcats will travel to Auburn, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 26, for their last regular season road game. Kentucky will take on the Auburn Tigers with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
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