Wyatt helps rally No. 11 Kentucky women past Georgia 58-53

Mar 3, 2019, 08:52 pm

ATHENS, Ga. -- Tatyana Wyatt scored 17 points and Rhyne Howard and Jaida Roper hit clutch 3-pointers down the stretch Sunday as No. 11 Kentucky held off Georgia 58-53 in their final game of the regular season.

The Wildcats (24-6, 11-5 Southeastern Conference) scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to take a 43-39 lead. The teams traded points with the Bulldogs pulling within two on a 3-pointer by Gabby Connally with 2:38 to play and within 49-48 when she hit another one at the 1:42 mark.

Howard answered with a 3 at 1:06 but Taja Cole hit a trey for Georgia at 48.1 seconds. Roper responded to that by drilling a wide-open 3-pointer from the right corner with 34.5 seconds left.

Connally drove down the lane for a layup that made it 55-53 but Maci Morris made both free throws after she was quickly fouled with 15.9 seconds to go to make it a two-possession game. After a Georgia miss, Wyatt made a free throw and then the Bulldogs turned the ball over.

Kentucky only shot 37.5 percent for the game but was 8 of 16 in the fourth quarter to bounce back from a 62-55 home loss to No. 19 Texas A&M that ended a six-game winning streak.

Connally led the Bulldogs (18-11, 9-7), who had a four-game winning streak snapped, with 18 points.