ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Rhyne Howard scored 27 points, hitting all four of her 3-pointers, and No. 19 Kentucky defeated No. 17 Georgia 62-58 on Thursday night.
A 17-3 run to close the first half gave the Wildcats a 34-24 lead but the Bulldogs recovered and stayed in the game.
However, Georgia didn’t commit their first foul of the fourth quarter until 1:22 remained. Finally, at 9.1 seconds Tatyana Wyatt made two free throws for Kentucky. Jordan Iasaacs made three from the line for Georgia with 5.7 seconds but a free throw by Chasity Patterson at 4.3 seconds secured the win.
Patterson scored 15 points and Wyatt 11 for Kentucky (16-6, 9-5 Southeastern Conference).
Jenna Staiti led Georgia (17-5, 9-5), which had won four straight, with 16 points. Gabby Connally and Que Morrison added 13 apiece. A win would have secured the Bulldogs a top four seed and double bye when the league tournament starts next week.
The game was a statistic match except Kentucky was 6 of 14 behind the arc and Georgia 3 of 18.
Kentucky plays its last game at home on Sunday against Ole Miss and Georgia is at Florida on Sunday, with the tipoff moved up an hour to noon.
___
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
