‘We’ll be a dangerous team.’ UK awaits NCAA Tournament fate after loss in SEC semis.
The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team’s run in the Southeastern Conference Tournament came to an end Saturday night.
Freshman phenom Rickea Jackson poured in 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, sparking Mississippi State to a 77-59 victory over the Wildcats in the semifinals in Greenville, S.C.
In Kentucky’s regular-season victory over Mississippi State the Cats were able to successfully neutralize the Bulldogs’ dribble-drive offense and size advantage. That was not the case on Saturday, as Mississippi State routinely attacked the post for layups and short jumpers. The Bulldogs, who won last year’s SEC Tournament, outscored UK in the paint 48-26 and won the rebounding battle 40-29. They shot 51 percent from the field, while the Wildcats hit 34 percent of their shots.
“We started the first quarter very aggressive, shots were going in,” assistant coach Kyra Elzy said on the UK Radio Network postgame show. “After the first quarter our shots stopped falling and I think we let our offense affect how efficient we played defensively. We gave them some easy baskets around the rim. Give a lot of credit to Mississippi State, they were physical and made plays when they had to.”
Sophomore star Rhyne Howard led UK with 26 points and seven rebounds, but she hit just two of 12 three-point attempts and 10 of 26 field-goal tries overall. Chasity Patterson was the only other Wildcat to score double figures, pitching in 13 points.
Early on, 16th-ranked Kentucky (22-8) appeared to have carried over the momentum from Friday’s rout of Tennessee in the quarterfinals. Against the Bulldogs, the Cats jumped out to a 22-10 lead with Howard scoring 11 points in the first quarter.
But Mississippi State (27-5) quickly seized momentum, reeling off a 10-0 run to pull within two. Jaida Roper finally ended UK’s scoring drought with a jumper three-and-a-half minutes into the second quarter. After the Cats built their 12-point lead, Mississippi State outscored them 67-37 the rest of the way.
The ninth-ranked Bulldogs took their first lead, 32-30, on a pair of free throws from JaMya Mingo-Young. Patterson pushed the Cats back in front 35-32 with a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half. Aliyah Matharu returned the favor at the third-quarter buzzer, nailing a three to send the Bulldogs into the fourth quarter with a 52-47 advantage.
Sabrina Haines missed the entire second half after appearing to suffer a knee injury in the second quarter. After the game, Elzy said the team was still awaiting an update from the medical staff on the redshirt senior’s condition.
Mississippi State made its fifth straight appearance in the SEC Tournament finals when it faced regular-season champion South Carolina on Sunday.
Kentucky will learn its NCAA Tournament fate when the 64-team field is revealed Monday, March 16, at 7 p.m. on ESPN. With Saturday’s loss, the Cats are likely out of the running for a top-16 seed and the resulting right to host the first two rounds at home. ESPN’s Charlie Creme, who’s responsible for the network’s women’s basketball “Bracketology,” currently predicts UK will earn a No. 6 seed.
“We’ll be a dangerous team come the NCAA Tournament,” Elzy said. “As disappointed as we are right now, this team has made great strides. We’ve won a whole bunch of ballgames. We’re one of the best teams in this league and we’ve just got to get home and regroup.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 9:51 PM.
