Rhyne Howard on Cheryl Miller Award Top 10 Watch List
LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the second time this week, University of Kentucky women’s basketball junior Rhyne Howard has been tabbed to a national watch list as the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has placed her on the Cheryl Miller Award Top 10 Watch List.
Named after the three-time Naismith Player of the Year, the annual award in its fourth year recognizes the top small forwards in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. To be considered for this prestigious award, candidates must exhibit the intensity, grit and scoring savvy of Class of 1995 Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller. Last season, Howard was named a finalist for the award.
In March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Miller and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The Selection Committee for the Cheryl Miller Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2021 Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award will be presented April 9, 2021, along with the four other members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award, and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men’s Starting Five. College basketball fans can support their favorite players by participating in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies.
Howard continues to show why she is the best player in women’s college basketball, leading top-15 Kentucky all season long. The Wildcats have several wins against ranked opponents, including winning back-to-back games vs. No. 10 Arkansas and No. 12 Mississippi State to start league play. The wins for Kentucky marked the first time the program has ever beat consecutive top-15 league opponents and only the third time it has secured consecutive wins against top-15 ranked foes and the first since December 2013.
Her best performances this season have come against highly ranked opponents. In seven games against ranked foes, Howard is hitting nearly 50 percent from the field and averaging 23.6 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game with 22 assists, 14 steals and four blocks. In four straight games against ranked opponents – vs. Arkansas, at Mississippi State, at Texas A&M and vs. South Carolina – Howard scored a combined 111 points including 33 at Mississippi State and 32 against the Gamecocks. In those four games, Howard combined for 33 rebounds, 18 assists and five steals. Against State, Howard put the team on her back late in the game scoring 25 of her 33 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. In fact, Howard scored 25 of Kentucky’s final 31 points in the game, including 10 of the team’s 14 overtime points.
The preseason favorite for national player of the year, Howard has lived up to the hype so far in 2020-21, leading Kentucky with 19.3 points per game and adding 6.9 rebounds per game. The guard leads Kentucky with 32 3-pointers made and is second on the team with 52 assists and 24 steals. In SEC play, Howard is averaging 22.1 points per game with 7.4 rebounds per game and leads UK with 33 assists.
Howard continues her move up the career record book at UK, ranking fourth all-time in career 3-pointers made with 190, while her 1,428 career points scored ranks 17th all-time. With 18 more points, Howard will move into the top 15 all-time, passing Tiffany Wait. On the year, Howard has led UK in scoring, rebounding and assists seven times.
Fans are encouraged to visit RhyneHoward.com to keep up with the junior’s campaign to become a unanimous All-America selection and national player of the year.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
