KNOXVILLE — No matter the angle, dimension or television format, Kentucky was flat for a second straight game and it equaled a second straight loss.
In a made-for-television rematch of the Southeastern Conference's top two teams in a 3D game, No. 7 Kentucky failed to fire and No. 13 Tennessee ran away with a 91-54 win on Monday night.
It was the Lady Vols' 16th straight win over Kentucky at Thompson Boling Arena and it helped them avenge a one-point loss to the Cats in Lexington a month ago.
"That stuff doesn't happen when we're playing on our home court," said senior Glory Johnson, one of three Volunteers in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Meighan Simmons led Tennessee with a season-high 25 points. Shekinna Stricklen added 18 points and six rebounds.
Tennessee assistant coach Holly Warlick said the loss in Lexington, coupled with the Vols' two game deficit to the Cats in the SEC standings, offered up plenty of motivation.
"We had a little more to prove," Warlick said. "We were a little more determined because of what happened at Kentucky."
In response, the Volunteers handed the Cats their worst loss of the season and their worst loss to UT since a 44-point drubbing in 2001.
"Our team is not feeling very good, feeling embarrassed ... after that kind of performance," UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said. "As a coach, I really, really feel like I should have done a better job of getting us prepared to play."
Now, after losing two straight on the road in the conference, Kentucky (21-4, 10-2 SEC) clings to a one-game lead over the Vols with four games to go.
When these two teams played in Lexington a month ago, it came down to a game-winner in the final five seconds for UK to win it.
The Lady Vols (18-7, 9-3) made sure early that it wasn't going to come down to that this time with an aggressive 2-3 zone that seemed to confuse the Cats from tip to final horn.
The Cats also saw a 2-3 zone in their loss at LSU in the previous game.
"We're obviously struggling on offense right now," Mitchell said. "It's not going well for us."
Kentucky missed its first nine shots of the game and the Vols grabbed an 18-6 lead. UK also missed its first eight three-pointers before Bernisha Pinkett put one in. It would be the only trey of the first half.
For the game, Kentucky shot 33.3 percent and allowed Tennessee to make 59 percent of its shots. The problems on offense bled over into defensive intensity.
The Cats still managed to cut the lead to five points with 9:16 to go in the first half but that was as close as they'd get. Tennessee responded to UK's mini run with 14 unanswered (the largest run against Kentucky all season).
The Vols led by as many as 23 points with 2:19 before the break.
Bria Goss led Kentucky with 15 points despite sitting all but two minutes of the first half in foul trouble. A'dia Mathis added 12 points and four rebounds.
The Tennessee lead ballooned to as many as 40 points.
The Volunteers outrebounded smaller Kentucky 45-27, including getting 26 defensive rebounds.
"This program is built on defense and rebounding and tonight, we did both very well," Warlick said. "When we do those two things, everything else falls into place for us."
Kentucky has little time to regroup offensively. A game at Alabama looms on Thursday and the Cats are still trying to earn their first SEC regular-season title in 30 years.
Mitchell indicated that UK probably won't be watching this Tennessee loss in any format.
We need to "get the DVD and try to shatter it into a thousand pieces," he said. "We really have to get focused on Alabama. I don't know what value we'll have in browbeating the kids. It was embarrassing tonight. We feel terrible. I wish Kentucky had played better, but we have a lot to play for."
