LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A good third quarter wasn't enough to rescue the Arkansas women's basketball team from a rough second quarter on Sunday against No. 16 Kentucky.
Arkansas went almost four minutes without making a shot from the field in the second quarter to fall into a 20-point hole, one that proved too big for one of the SEC's lowest-scoring teams to dig out of in a 77-63 loss to Kentucky on Sunday in Memorial Coliseum.
Jessica Jackson scored 18 points for the Razorbacks (11-16, 6-8), who lost for the fourth consecutive time on the road and are 1-6 in SEC road games. Malica Monk had 12 points and Kelsey Brooks scored 10 for Arkansas.
Jackson, Monk and Brooks combined for 17 of Arkansas' 20 points in the third quarter as it tried to rally from a deficit that was 42-22 late in the second quarter and 44-26 at halftime.
Jackson made a free throw and Monk a layup to get Arkansas going, and later a Brooks three-pointer followed by a Jackson jumper got Arkansas, 13th in the SEC in scoring at 60.6 points per game, to within 48-36 with 6:24 left in the third quarter.
Another Brooks three followed by a Jackson jumper and a Melissa Wolff free throw pulled Arkansas to within 51-44 with 2:07 left in the period.
A Monk layup made it 53-46 with 1:43 left but Kentucky (19-6, 8-6) ended the quarter with a Batouly Camara layup and a 5-2 spurt to start the fourth quarter gave Kentucky a 60-48 lead to hold off the charge.
Kentucky Coach Matthew Mitchell said Arkansas took advantage of his team's zone defense to cut the lead with a 15-7 run in the quarter.
"I thought Arkansas really got on a roll and played hard and came out with a lot of fight in the third quarter," he said. "We just tried to stay positive and finish the game and I was really happy with the team and the way they responded."
The Razorbacks fell into the hole after being outscored 22-10 in the second quarter. Kentucky led 22-16 after the first quarter, and outscored Arkansas 16-2 run at the start of the quarter to extend the lead.
Arkansas missed seven consecutive shots after a basket by Jackson two minutes into the second quarter, and by the time Jackson scored again with 3:53 left, it trailed 38-20. The Razorbacks fell behind by 20 points twice before halftime.
Evelyn Akhator had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Kentucky. Epps scored 16 points Alexis Jennings 14 and Maci Morris 10 for the Wildcats (19-6, 8-6 SEC).
Sports on 02/22/2016