No. 12 Kentucky holds off Tennessee State 87-75

Dec 28, 2015, 11:06 pm

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Alexis Jennings scored a career-high 27 points and hauled in eight rebounds to lead No. 12 Kentucky to an 87-75 win over Tennessee State on Sunday.

Linnae Harper added 17 points and dished out six assists, Makayla Epps had 16 points and Janee Thompson had eight points and seven steals for Kentucky (11-2), which shot 39.4 percent from the floor but went 28 of 43 from the free throw line to seal the win.

Tennessee State (3-8) opened strong, building a lead early in the first half with a 9-2 spurt capped by LaTeasha Hill's jumper to make it 16-8 with 14:41 left before the break. But the Wildcats quickly closed the gap, then took control with a 20-2 run bookended by scores from Harper to make it 32-20 and never trailed again. Kyvin Goodin-Rogers sank the go-ahead bucket.

Brianna Lawrence led the Lady Tigers with 19 points.