The undefeated begin to the season lastly got here to an finish for head coach Kenny Brooks and the 14th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday.
No. 16 North Carolina took a 36-25 lead into the half on its solution to a 72-53 win over the Wildcats.
North Carolina (8-1) shot 47.5% from the ground and dominated Kentucky within the paint, 42-10. The Tar Heels additionally had the rebounding benefit, 37-29.
Three gamers scored in double figures for North Carolina. Sophomore Reniya Kelly had 18 factors and 6 assists whereas seniors Maria Gakdeng (16 factors, 9 rebounds) and Alyssa Ustby (13 factors, eight rebounds) had a balanced effort.
Thursday night time was the primary setback this season for Kentucky. Senior Dazia Lawrence led the Wildcats with 17 factors. Coming into the sport, middle Clara Strack (18.3 PPG) and guard Georgia Amoore (15 PPG) led the staff in scoring. On Thursday, Strack was held to a season-low 4 factors (2-for-10) and Amoore shot simply 4-for-12 with 10 factors.
Kentucky (7-1) couldn’t appear to search out any consistency from the ground. The Wildcats shot simply 19-for-54 (35.2%) and 7-for-24 (29.2%) from lengthy vary.
Apart from a 69-58 loss to No. 2 UConn (7-0), the Tar Heels have had a powerful begin to the season. They return to motion on Sunday in opposition to Coppin State.
Previous to Thursday night time, Kentucky had not suffered a loss. The Wildcats took down rival and 18th-ranked Louisville (5-3), 71-61, and received one other spectacular win over No. 19 Illinois (7-1), 76-53. Kentucky returns residence to face Queens on Monday earlier than a highway journey to Purdue (5-3) on Dec. 14.
