NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Alabama women's basketball team fell to Kentucky, 71-64, in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament inside Bridgestone Arena on Thursday afternoon.

"Credit Kentucky," head coach Kristy Curry said. "I thought Maci Morris made big shot after big shot. We didn't have an answer defensively and you have to credit those guys. It was going to come down to who could capitalize offensively and we had too many errors defensively and you can't win games down the stretch like that. That has caught up with us the last couple of games. We were a stop or two away and couldn't get it when we needed it the most."

The Crimson Tide (17-13) was outscored 21-16 in the final quarter, as the Wildcats (15-16) will move on to take on No. 2 Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday.

Senior Ashley Williams earned her fourth double-double in the last five games, after finishing with 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while fellow senior Hannah Cook led the team with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor.

The Tide started the game on the right foot, jumping out to a 6-1 lead just two and a half minutes into the contest. The Wildcats had an answer, with a 7-2 run to tie the game up at 8-8 with 5:14 left in the opening quarter. Alabama exploded for a 10-0 run to close out the period and go up 18-8.

Kentucky bounced back in the second quarter by outscoring Alabama 15-7 to trim the UA lead to 25-23 after the first 20 minutes of play.

The two teams battled in the third quarter, when Cook knocked down three-straight triples to give UA the 41-35 advantage with 4:15 remaining in the third. Kentucky had another answer, by using a 10-2 run to close out the quarter and regain the 50-48 lead going into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, Alabama cut the UK lead to one, after Cook hit her fourth three-pointer of the game at the 8:03 mark. Kentucky never conceded the lead in the final quarter, using big shots to seal its second victory over the Tide this season.

Alabama shot 40 percent (24-of-60) for the game, and outrebounded the Wildcats 36-33 in the loss.

For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaWBB on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.