Kentucky Celebrates Rhyne Howard Day Sunday in Memorial Coliseum
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Bat-Signal to Big Blue Nation is officially lighting up the sky in Lexington as the University of Kentucky women’s basketball looks for a memorable day Sunday in Memorial Coliseum. The program is hosting Rhyne Howard Day, honoring one of the best players in school history and looks to end the regular season on a six-game winning streak as it plays host to Auburn at 4 p.m. ET.
All fans in attendance will receive a special edition Rhyne Howard paper crown and commemorative poster upon entry. Single-game tickets are $10 (all ages) in reserved seating areas, while general admission tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children (ages 6-18) and seniors (age 65+). Children aged 5 and under do not require a ticket in general admission areas. Tickets are available for purchase at UKathletics.com/tickets. For more on mobile tickets, visit UKathletics.com/mobiletickets.
Sunday’s game will be broadcast live on SEC Network with Paul Sunderland and Mike Thibault on the call. Darren Headrick will have the call on the UK Sports Network (630AM in Lexington). Live stats and free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com.
Regardless of vaccination status, all guests will be required to wear a mask while visiting Memorial Coliseum. Fans will not be required to show proof of vaccination to enter, but face coverings – covering the nose and mouth – are required for all fans as they watch the game from their seat and enter, exit, and move around Memorial Coliseum. Children 2 and younger will not be required to wear a mask. If spectators are unable to wear masks, they are encouraged not to attend in person for the sake of their health and the health of others.
Doors to Memorial Coliseum will open one hour prior to tip. All bags must adhere to the UK Athletics Clear Bag policy. All bags and items will be searched. To avoid additional touch points, fans are strongly encouraged to not bring unnecessary bags to Memorial Coliseum. More on UK Athletics’ Clear Bag policy can be found online, here.
Parking for games is available starting three hours prior to tip off in a majority of surface lots surrounding Memorial Coliseum, including the High Street Lot, East Maxwell Lot, Joe Craft Center Lot, College View Lot, Alumni Center Lot and Career Center Lot. The Cornerstone Garage and Parking Structure 2 open two hours prior to tip. The Gatton Student Center Lot is pay-to-park while all other parking options are free. The JCC Lot is primarily used limited mobility/handicap parking. No shuttles are being offered from any lot this season.
One of the best players to ever wear the Blue and White, Howard will finish her career in the top 10 of nearly every statistical category Kentucky recognizes, including second in scoring and 3-point shooting. Rhyne has scored over 2,150 points in her career to become the second all-time leading scorer in school history – men’s and women’s. She was just the third men’s or women’s player in program history to score 2,000 career points in 100 games or less. Howard is a two-time consensus first-team All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, has been a finalist for every major national player of the year award each of the last two seasons and was the unanimous national freshman of the year in 2019.
This season, Howard is leading Kentucky in scoring, rebounding, 3-point shooting, steals and blocks, while she is second on the team in assists. The native of Cleveland, Tennessee, is averaging 19.9 points per game with 8.0 rebounds per game. Howard has scored 10 or more points in 12 of the last 13 games, including eight double-doubles during that stretch.
Redshirt junior Dre’una Edwards is averaging 16.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Edwards has scored 20 or more points four of the last five games, including a career-best 30 points against Mizzou with 10 rebounds and two blocks. Edwards has three double-doubles in her last four games and has scored 20 or more points in four of the last five games. UK is 8-0 this season when Kentucky has scored 20 or more points. Freshman guard Jada Walker is averaging 10.2 points per game this season, while senior guard Robyn Benton is averaging 8.9 points per game.
Sunday will be the 52nd all-time meeting between Kentucky and Auburn in women’s basketball with the Tigers leading the all-time series in games played, 26-25. Kentucky leads the series in games played in Lexington, 11-10. The Wildcats have won 14 of the last 15 meetings, including the last eight in Lexington. UK’s last loss to the Tigers came in Auburn when AU took down UK 66-61 on Jan. 3, 2016. Auburn’s last win in Lexington against the Wildcats came Jan 19, 2006 at Rupp Arena, 71-51. UK’s last loss to Auburn in Memorial Coliseum was Feb. 5, 2004, 71-54.
Kentucky is 34-12 all-time in regular-season home finales (1974-75 season not included). The Cats have won 14 of their last 18 games on “Senior Day”.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
