LEXINGTON, KY. –  Lipscomb women's basketball (6-6, 0-0 ASUN) traveled to the Bluegrass State for the tail end of back-to-back showings versus SEC opponents as they took on the Kentucky Wildcats (6-7, 0-0 SEC) Thursday morning. The Bisons led most of the battle in Rupp Arena, but were unable to hold off a late surge from the Wildcats who exploded in the fourth quarter, scoring 31 points to prevail over the Bisons 87-80.

Bella Vinson ended as the Bisons leading scorer, finishing with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting, playing all 40 minutes for the Bisons. Aleah Sorrentino and Molly Heard each tallied 18 points in the outing, followed by Claira McGowan, who rounded out the double-figure scorers for Lipscomb with 12 points off the bench.

The Bisons got off to a solid start offensively in the first quarter. Molly Heard led the way in the period, pouring in 14 of the Bisons 25 points in the frame. She was virtually unstoppable, going a perfect 6-of-6 in the first ten minutes, with 13 points coming inside on drives to the basket.

After a Kentucky layup that took the Bisons lead down to one in the first quarter (3:42), the Bisons went on a 10-2 scoring run, ending on Blythe Pearson three-pointers at the 1:02 mark of the quarter. The Wildcats responded and cut their nearly double-digit deficit to five (25-20) at the first break.  

More Bisons got involved in the second quarter, led by Bella Vinson with seven of the Bisons' 21 points in the quarter. Lipscomb worked to lead by as much as 13 in the second back by a 12-0 run midway through the period. The squad play solid collective defense, forcing five turnovers in the second.

A three-pointer at the halftime buzzer from the Wildcats brought them to within single digits 46-37. Lipscomb shot 56 percent in the first half, and Molly Heard scored all of her 18 points in the frame. They ended the frame scoring 11 points off Kentucky turnovers and outscored the Wildcats 30-16 in the painted area. 

The Wildcats started to slowly chip away at their deficit in the third quarter, cutting it to as little as four with 2:21 still left in the period. Lipscomb managed to fight off several runs from the Wildcats to take a seven-point lead into the final quarter. 

Neither team shot the ball as well as they did in the first two quarters, but fouls began to pile up for the Bisons. Kentucky got two the line 16 times in the period, which put several Bisons' in foul trouble down the stretch. 

To open the fourth, the Wildcats scored 11 straight to take their first lead since the early part of the first quarter. Kentucky would ramp up the pressure defensively in the period, forcing the Bisons into eight costly turnovers, which they turn into 16 points on the other end. 

A Vinson second-chance bucket brought the Bisons within two with 3:38 remaining, but the Bisons couldn't combine stops with baskets on the offensive side down the stretch and fell for the third straight time 87-80. The Wildcats shot 11-of-14 in the final quarter, en route to a game high 31 point period to put the Bisons away. 

HERD NOTES:

• Four Bisons reached double figures against the Wildcats, marking the fifth time that four Bisons have scored ten or more this season. 
• Bella Vinson's 21 points were a season-high for the junior guard/forward and Preseason All-ASUN Team member. 
• The loss was just the second time in 2023-24 that the Bisons fell when shooting 40 percent or more from the field. 
• Lipscomb has lost three straight games for the first time in over a year. 
• Lipscomb shot 54 percent from the floor in the loss, but just 26 percent from deep on 4-of-15 attempts.
• The Bisons are still one win away from setting the program record for most non-conference wins in a season, with one more opportunity tomorrow. 
• Lipscomb outscored the Wildcats in the paint 48-38.
• Kentucky leads the overall series over the Bisons 3-0. 

UP NEXT: 
The Bisons will begin prepping for their next game tomorrow, Dec. 22, at Allen Arena against Tennessee Wesleyan. Tip-off is slated for noon CT, with the matchup airing on ESPN+. Continue to check lipscombsports.com and the team's social media accounts (@lipscombwbb on IG and @lipscomb_wbb on X) for the most up-to-date information on Lipscomb women's basketball.