No. 14 Kentucky Travels to No. 7 Louisville Sunday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 14 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team looks to get back in the win column Sunday as it travels to face No. 7 Louisville at 1 p.m. ET inside the KFC Yum! Center.
Sunday’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN with Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli 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.
Kentucky (6-2) is coming off a disappointing performance Thursday night against DePaul, falling to the Blue Demons in Rupp Arena, 94-85. Four Wildcats scored in double figures in the game, but DePaul scored 62 points in the paint to upend the Wildcats.
Overall this season, Kentucky has been led by senior guard Rhyne Howard, who is averaging 19.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Redshirt junior forward Dre’una Edwards, who did not play against DePaul due to a suspension, will return Sunday against Louisville. She is averaging 18.9 points per game with 7.9 rebounds per game. Senior guard Robyn Benton is averaging 13.3 points per game after scoring 22 points against DePaul. Freshman guard Jada Walker is averaging 11.8 points per game and has impressed in the early going, adding 21 assists and 12 steals.
Louisville (7-1) has won seven straight games after dropping its season opener to Arizona. The Cardinals are led this season by Kianna Smith, who is averaging 11.5 points per game and hit a team-best 16 3s. Emily Engstler is averaging 10.6 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game, while Hailey Van Lith is averaging 10.3 points per game and has 13 assists. UofL is averaging 69.6 points per game and limiting teams to just 46.4 points per game. Opponents are shooting just 33 percent from the field and 24 percent from long range against the Cardinals this season. UK enters Sunday hitting 49 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3.
Kentucky leads the all-time series vs. Louisville 34-22, but the Cardinals own the series lead in games played in Louisville 15-11. UofL has won four straight in the series after Kentucky won six of seven meetings from 2009 to 2015. The teams did not meet last year after schedules changed due to the COVID health crisis.
Louisville won the last meeting in the series, defeating UK 67-66 at Rupp Arena on Dec. 15, 2019. Howard scored 26 points, but her last-second three-pointer came up just short that day. UK got 12 points from both Sabrina Haines and Tatyana Wyatt in the game, along with nine points from KeKe McKinney. Louisville dominated the rebounding battle, claiming 37 boards compared to just 17 for Kentucky. The Cards had 15 offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points, compared to just seven offensive rebounds and six second-chance points for the Cats. The Cards also outscored the Cats 36-16 on points in the paint. Kentucky hit 22 of its 50 shots (44.0 percent) in the game, including 10 of 19 (52.6 percent) from behind the arc. The Cats also made 12 of 15 (80 percent) from the free throw line. Louisville made 29 of 56 (51.8 percent) from the floor, including five of 15 (33.3 percent) from three-point range. The Cards made all four of their free throw attempts.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
