Turnovers Doom Kentucky in Thriller Against Vanderbilt Despite Hot Shooting Night
Memorial Coliseum was electric from the opening tip, with a packed house ready to watch No. 7 Kentucky take on No.
16 Vanderbilt in what felt like one of the most anticipated matchups of the season. The Wildcats came out swinging, jumping to a quick 6-2 lead and feeding off the energy of a raucous home crowd.
But as the night wore on, the story became less about the shots Kentucky made-and more about the ones they never got to take.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams trading threes early. But it was Vanderbilt’s Justine Pissott who hit the go-ahead triple heading into the first media timeout, giving the Commodores a slight edge. From there, Kentucky’s Achilles’ heel made an early appearance: turnovers.
Five giveaways in the opening quarter gave Vanderbilt extra possessions, and they cashed in. Six of their 19 first-quarter points came directly off Kentucky turnovers, and the Wildcats trailed 19-16 after one.
That trend didn’t just continue-it snowballed.
Early in the second quarter, a miscommunication on a rebound led to an easy Vanderbilt three, and then a slip on a drive turned into a fast-break bucket the other way. Suddenly, Kentucky was down seven and looked out of rhythm.
But Amelia Hassett’s three-pointer gave the crowd a jolt, and Asia Boone followed with a pair of deep daggers to swing the momentum back. Boone’s second triple just before the halftime buzzer sent Kentucky into the locker room with a 38-34 lead.
At that point, Kentucky had already committed 10 turnovers, which Vanderbilt converted into 11 points. And yet, the Wildcats were still up by four.
That’s how efficient they were when they actually got shots up-especially from deep, where Hassett was 3-of-4 and led the team with 9 points at the break. Clara Strack added 7 points and 9 boards in a gritty first half.
But the second half? It was déjà vu in the worst way.
Kentucky turned it over on their first possession, and Vanderbilt wasted no time pouncing. A 7-0 run out of the gate gave the Commodores the lead, and Sacha Washington added a little extra spice with some words for Strack after a bucket in the paint. Teonni Key stopped the bleeding with a layup, but the turnovers kept piling up.
Despite shooting a scorching 54% from the field, Kentucky couldn’t get out of its own way. Strack, as impactful as she was on the boards and in the paint, finished with six turnovers-too many from a high-usage player in a tight game. Still, with under three minutes to go in the third, Kentucky had built a 9-point lead.
Then came the turning point.
With the Wildcats up 56-50, Strack took a shot to the face from Mikayla Blakes as she cut through the lane. Officials spent several minutes reviewing the play but ultimately ruled it a common foul.
Whether it should’ve been a flagrant is up for debate, but the result was clear: the momentum shifted. Vanderbilt closed the quarter on a run, trimming the lead to 58-54.
Blakes opened the fourth with a basket, and suddenly Kentucky was under pressure. Two quick turnovers turned into five Vanderbilt points and a 3-point Commodores lead.
To make matters worse, Tonie Morgan went to the bench clutching her thigh, and the turnover tally climbed to 17-compared to just three for Vanderbilt. The Commodores had turned those miscues into 20 points.
Morgan returned, but foul trouble limited her impact. Vanderbilt capitalized, extending the lead to double digits after another Blakes three. Key and Hassett fought to keep Kentucky in it-Key with a strong finish inside, Hassett with another deep ball-but every time the Wildcats inched closer, Blakes was there to slam the door.
With under four minutes to go, Hassett had a clean look from the corner to cut it to two. It rimmed out.
Strack grabbed the offensive board and drew a foul, but split the pair at the line. That was the kind of night it was-opportunities were there, but Kentucky just couldn’t string together enough clean possessions.
A steal and layup from Key brought the crowd back to life, but a foul on the other end allowed Blakes to calmly knock down two more. Then came a questionable illegal screen call on Key, which led to a Sacha Washington post-up and another Vanderbilt score. The Wildcats were unraveling, and the Commodores were seizing every chance.
Still, Kentucky refused to fold. Down five with under a minute to go, Hassett hit a clutch three.
Boone fouled Blakes, who split the pair at the line. Key answered with a layup to cut it to one.
But with time running out, the Wildcats were forced to foul, and Vanderbilt hit their free throws when it mattered most.
Kentucky had one final possession, trailing by one with 11 seconds left. Hassett was forced into a contested three that missed. Key grabbed the rebound, but the clock expired before the Wildcats could get another shot off.
The numbers paint a frustrating picture: Kentucky shot 53% from the floor, 52% from deep, and outrebounded Vanderbilt by 15. On most nights, that’s a winning formula.
But 20 turnovers leading to 25 Commodore points? That’s a mountain too steep to climb.
Mikayla Blakes was the difference-maker, finishing with 37 points and delivering dagger after dagger down the stretch. For Kentucky, it was a night of “what ifs.”
What if they had taken better care of the ball? What if one or two of those missed threes had fallen?
Instead, they walk away with a loss in a game they statistically dominated-except in the one category that mattered most: possessions.