No. 18 Kentucky falls at No. 4 Texas in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — The 18th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats fell to the 4th-ranked Texas Longhorns 64-53 on Monday night in Austin. The loss marked Kentucky’s fifth defeat in its last six games.

The Wildcats hung with the Longhorns for the first 13 minutes of the game, as neither team built a lead larger than six points during that stretch.

However, over the final 7:07 of the first half, Kentucky failed to score. The Wildcats went into the break trailing Texas 38-28.

Kentucky attempted to chip away at the deficit throughout the third quarter. The Wildcats closed the period on a 10-3 run to cut the lead to seven, 48-41, heading into the fourth quarter.

Kentucky carried that momentum into the final period, opening the quarter with a 7-1 run over the first 3:46 to pull within one point with just over six minutes remaining.

Texas then locked down defensively. The Longhorns ended the game on a 15-3 run to secure a double-digit victory.

Asia Boone led the Wildcats in scoring with 16 points off the bench. She was joined in double figures by Clara Strack (14 points) and Tonie Morgan (12 points).

Texas was led by Justice Carlton with 17 points, while Jordan Lee added 13. Reigning SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker was held to just eight points.

The win marked the Longhorns’ 40th straight victory at home.

With the loss, Kentucky falls to 18-7 overall (5-6 SEC), placing them 10th in the conference. Texas improves to 23-2 (8-2 SEC), good for second place in the conference standings.

Kentucky returns to action Thursday night when it hosts the Texas A&M Aggies (9-10, 2-8 SEC) at Historic Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.