No. 17 Kentucky Travels to No. 2 South Carolina Sunday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A whirlwind week for the No. 17 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team that has seen several postponements and travel issues due to the inclement weather across the southeast region of the nation, will hopefully find normalcy Sunday as the Wildcats travel to face No. 2 South Carolina for a 3 p.m. ET tip inside Colonial Life Arena.
The game vs. South Carolina will be televised on ESPN with Ryan Ruocco and Rebecca Lobo on the call. The action can be seen through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones or tablets. Darren Headrick will have the call on the UK Sports Network on 630AM WLAP in Lexington. Live stats and free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com.
Kentucky (15-5, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) started the weekend with a strong win Monday at Florida, scoring 88 points and hitting 53.7 percent from the field. The Wildcats then had to stay an extra night in Gainesville due to weather, before having their Thursday game with LSU postponed to Friday before it was eventually postponed again Thursday afternoon. The postponement has left Kentucky focusing squarely on the highly ranked Gamecocks as it enters the weekend.
In its last outing at Florida, Kentucky put together one of its best offensive performances of the year. UK scored 88 points in the game, which was its second-most points scored in an SEC game this season trailing only the 92 points UK scored in its double-overtime thriller at Mississippi State. The Wildcats shot 53.7 percent from the field in the game, which was its best shooting performance in an SEC game since Jan. 25, 2018 against Alabama. It was also UK’s best shooting performance in an SEC road game since Jan. 31, 2016 at Florida. The Wildcats had a 40-32 edge in paint points, which was the most paint points UK has scored in an SEC game this season. Kentucky is 6-0 this season when it shoots over 50 percent.
Rhyne Howard led the way for Kentucky, scoring 31 points with four 3s made, nine rebounds and two steals. The performance makes Howard the fourth player in school history to have at least six career 30-point games and the first player in school history to have three career 30-point games against SEC opponents. Howard now has 1,493 career points, which ranks her 11th all-time at UK, needing just nine more to reach the top 10 all-time in scoring. The native of Cleveland, Tennessee, is the only player in the SEC this season to lead her team in scoring, rebounding and assists as she averages 19.7 points per game with 7.2 rebounds per game and 64 assists. She also has hit a team-best 38 3-pointers and is second on the team with 67 steals.
Senior guard Chasity Patterson is averaging 13.1 points per game and is leading the team and the nation with 67 steals. Patterson also has 59 assists and has hit 28 3s. Sophomore forward Dre’una Edwards is averaging 10.6 points per game with 6.8 rebounds per game and a team-best 21 blocks.
South Carolina (17-3, 12-1 SEC) is coming off its first league loss of the season Thursday at top-25 ranked Tennessee. The Gamecocks led 37-25 at halftime but the Lady Vols scored 50 second-half points to come back and earn the 75-67 win. Sophomore center Aliyah Boston scored 17 points with 16 rebounds, adding a block in the game. Guards Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson each had 15 points and three rebounds with Henderson adding six assists.
As a team, South Carolina is averaging 79.3 points per game while limiting teams to 60.1 points per game. The Gamecocks are averaging 44.9 percent from the field and 33.0 percent from 3. South Carolina has a +16.1 rebounding margin and are averaging 7.3 blocks per game.
Sunday will be the 69th all-time meeting between Kentucky and South Carolina in women’s basketball. The Gamecocks have won 12 of the last 13 meetings in the series. UK has lost three straight games to the Gamecocks. The Wildcats last win against SC was a 65-57 win in Columbia on Feb. 21, 2019. The Gamecocks lead the series 19-11 in games played in Columbia.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRE-SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS CONFERENCE
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2021
JOE CRAFT CENTER – LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
Kentucky Head Coach Kyra Elzy
On Rhyne Howard being considered SEC Player of the Year …
“Well, I am a little busy during the games trying to coach the team, that is correct. However, my stance has not changed: Rhyne Howard is the best player and she has shown that time after time. It is not only about scoring – she can put the ball int eh basket – but she can play all five positions offensively and can defend all five positions. She can affect the game with her passing ability, her rebounding and her defense. That is what makes her special. My stance is the same: she is the best.”
On the weather changing the schedule …
“It just goes back to being able to adjust on the fly. This year is like no other and this is where resilience and mental toughness really plays a factor. We just have to focus in on the things that we can control. Yes, we get stuck in Florida and start preparing for LSU. Then the game is going to be moved to Friday, then the game is postponed. So our players went into practice yesterday thinking we were preparing for LSU. Then I had to inform them, “No, this game has been postponed and we are now preparing for South Carolina.” They have handled it well all year. We are not the only team that has to deal with adjustments. It is just par for the course right now.”
On what Tennessee did to beat South Carolina Thursday …
“Yes, I have had the opportunity to watch the game and it was a great game for women’s basketball. South Carolina is a top team for a reason. They have a lot of talent. We are just going into the game focusing on the things we need to do well and make adjustments from the first game. We are a different team than when we played them the first time and we just have to stick to our game plan.”
On the first meeting and how the team will adjust …
“Yeah, we did do a lot of good things the first time against South Carolina but the end result didn’t go in our favor. You have to grow with each game. One of the things that we did not do well was transition defense. We let their guards get downhill and score some easy layups, which really cost us. And we missed some huge box outs down the stretch when we had a chance in that game. That has to be an area of focus for us but not just for South Carolina but for every game in this conference. I told the players yesterday. Same motto – we will have to grind it out, transition defense and box out and find a way to protect the paint. That will be vital against South Carolina.”
On what areas Rhyne is playing better this season …
“Right now, she is drawing everyone’s best defender and she is drawing so much attention defensively. They are getting into her body. The great thing about her is that she can read the defense. So when they are jumping out on her, she knows how to make the extra pass and I think where she has grown up from a year ago is she really trusts her teammates to step up and make the play. We have so many more people on the floor that can score. The biggest thing for Rhyne is the pace at which she plays. She knows how to come off the screens and change the pace at which she can get open. A year ago, they trapped her and she panicked and didn’t handle that well. Now when they trap her, she knows how to get out of the trap. The biggest leap she has taken is defensively, she is not resting on the defensive end.”
On UK being in the NCAA top 16 reveal …
“The reveal did come out and we were happy to be in the top 16. We are one of the top programs in the country. However, our approach has not changed. We cannot control where they send us or place us as far as seeding. However, our goals are still the same and we have to work that way. We came into this season with goals we were trying to obtain and we just have to do one percent each day to get better and reach our goals. We have to work that way. We will our players that we cannot control everything but there are some things that we can control and working hard and putting ourself in position to achieve our goals, we can do that.”
On how she feels so far taking over the program …
“I would just credit that to the people around me. I am surrounded by an amazing coaching staff with Coach Butts and Coach Smith and Daniel Boice has really stepped up and played a huge role in the success of this team. Our players are invested and want to win. They are competitors. If you are going to sacrifice so much time from your family and living in a bubble and the hard practices, they want to win. They are committed to that. We love this program and they love this program and we all want to obtain a high level of success.”
On the new backcourt …
“The backcourt has looked great to me. Jazmine makes us different. She is an athletic point guard with size but her basketball IQ is extremely high. She knows how to create shots for people in ways that they like to score. It has really freed Chasity Patterson up at the two spot to not worry about anything but putting the ball in the basket. She has an uncanny ability to do that and just frees her mind up. I think she was a little bogged down with us playing her at the point guard position for 40 minutes, but this has been a change for her for the better.”
On Blair Green’s new role …
“Blair and I meet and the thing about this team is that we have had the most talent that we have had at Kentucky in a long time. And we have talked about it, everybody can’t start. Everybody can’t go to the press conference. Everybody cannot make the headlines. We have to buy into our roles in order to achieve team success. That is what I love about Blair. I talked to the team, as far as earning a spot – she has done that. As far as being coachable and playing hard, I would take 1,000 of her. In order for us to get where we want to go, this was one of the toughest decisions that I have had to make. With that said, Blair and I met and I need Blair. Even if she is coming off the bench, I need her to score. She is going to play minutes and she makes us better. When we have been the most efficient and effective offensively, it has been because Blair was scoring. When need her. Her role has not changed in that aspect. We need her to come in and make plays, she is just doing that off the bench right now.”
