Kentucky women’s basketball pulls away for dominant win in season opener
Heading into the season University of Kentucky women’s basketball fans were surely eager to see how the back court would shape up after the graduation of longtime mainstays Maci Morris and Taylor Murray. If Tuesday’s season opener was any indication, the jury is still out but the signs are positive.
Bolstered by big efforts from Tatyana Wyatt, Jaida Roper and Rhyne Howard, Kentucky pulled away from Mount St. Mary’s in the second half for a 67-44 victory in a half-full Memorial Coliseum.
Amanda Paschal started at point guard as she did in UK’s 80-44 exhibition victory over Southern Indiana last week. She split time with Roper, who entered the game early in the first quarter. Roper finished with 13 points in 24 minutes. Wyatt had 10 points and five rebounds, and came up with timely buckets on multiple occasions.
“I thought they did a really good job,” said UK Coach Matthew Mitchell of the efforts from Wyatt and Roper. “They are two players that we’ll be counting on this season to be productive. I thought Jaida really gave us a spark off the bench. Helped us get our defense turned up a little bit. And “Tat” is a talented player. Had she taken a little bit more time and had a little (bit) more poise in the post she would have had an even better night.”
Sophomore star Rhyne Howard spent much of the Southern Indiana game running the point but played off the ball for most of Tuesday’s opener. She struggled to find her shot but was clutch on defense all night, coming up with five steals and two blocks. Kentucky’s defense as a whole hounded the Mountaineers all night, holding them 27.8% field-goal shooting and forcing 28 turnovers.
“I’m just so happy our defense was able to come through and make some progress tonight,” Mitchell said. “I think there’s a lot for us to improve on but we sure got after it enough to get this victory … There’s a lot more positive than negative tonight, I can tell you that.”
Howard finished with a game-high 14 points on 4-for-16 shooting, adding 11 rebounds and five assists. She drained an early three-pointer to give the Cats a 5-0 lead but was held scoreless the rest of the first half, missing five straight shots. She also came up short on a foul-line jumper and a three-pointer early in the third quarter.
The Cats looked like they were on the verge of going on a run multiple times in the first quarter, but the Mountaineers kept it close. With Kentucky up 11-6, sophomore guard Michaela Harrison drained back-to-back three-pointers to give Mount St. Mary’s its only lead of the night.
After suffering through a scoring drought of more than three minutes in the second quarter, the Wildcats closed the half strong. They went on a 9-0 run, punctuated by a tough rebound and put back from KeKe McKinney, before Mountaineers junior guard Kayla Agentowicz hit a three at the buzzer to cut UK’s lead to 27-21 at the half.
The Wildcats took their first double-digit lead midway through the third quarter as Wyatt muscled home a short bank shot through contact and sank the free throw to make it 32-21 Kentucky.
After picking up her third foul, Howard spent the bulk of the third quarter on the bench. She reentered the game with three minutes to play and at the two-minute mark chased down a Mountaineers fast break and came up with an emphatic block, pounding her chest and yelling as her teammates celebrated. Howard got her second bucket of the night on a put back with 40 seconds to go in the third.
“(Howard) is a real even-keeled player,” Mitchell said. “She just can impact the game in every area. So she had a big night on the boards, she had steals, she had assists. Incredibly productive night.”
Freshman guard Emma King, a Lincoln County High School graduate, hit her first three-pointer as a Wildcat with just over seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter to put UK ahead 52-35. She drained another three moments later and finished with seven points in 13 minutes.
Kentucky returns to action Sunday at 3 p.m. at Middle Tennessee State. Last year UK topped the Blue Raiders 72-55 in Memorial Coliseum. MTSU opens the season Wednesday at East Carolina.
Next game
No. 13 Kentucky at Middle Tennessee State
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Live online video broadcast: ESPN Plus (subscription only)
This story was originally published November 5, 2019 at 9:10 PM.
