Loud crowd of local kids gives Cats a lift. Kentucky 8-0 after dominating win.
The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team got a little extra help during its latest runaway victory on Wednesday.
Led again by Rhyne Howard, the 15th-ranked Wildcats crushed Charlotte 86-39 in Memorial Coliseum in front of a rowdy crowd filled with students from elementary schools around Lexington. It was UK’s biggest scoring margin and highest point total of the season.
It was an unusual 11 a.m. tip-off for Wednesday’s Education Day promotion. The entire lower arena on one side of Memorial was packed with more than 1,000 kids who were engaged throughout the game, frequently singing along and dancing to the music pumped through the public address system and loudly celebrating every Kentucky basket. Halftime resembled an arena-wide karaoke contest, with the students combining on ear-shattering renditions of “Old Town Road” and the “Spongebob Squarepants” theme song.
“They were (loud),” said UK Coach Matthew Mitchell when asked whether he would consider packing the crowd with elementary school kids every game. “It’s a good marketing strategy. We might just start tipping off at 11 all the time. If we played like that it would be well worth it, I can tell you that.”
While the kids put on quite a show, they got to watch as Howard came through with another electrifying performance. The sophomore star scored a game-high 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. She sank a quick three-pointer that began a 10-0 Kentucky run to start the game. She scored 13 points in the first quarter as the Wildcats (8-0) jumped out to a 29-9 advantage.
Mitchell said Howard has an infinite green light on offense.
“She was very, very aggressive to start the game and I think that definitely encourages the rest of the team, and I think they feed off that,” said Mitchell. “If she’s open I want her to shoot it. If she’s open 1,000 times I want her to take 1,000 threes.”
Charlotte Coach Cara Consuegra called Howard “one of the best players in the country” and said the 49ers, who own double-digit victories over Wake Forest and Boston College, simply had no answer for her.
“We had absolutely nobody to match up with her,” Consuegra said. “I think that I probably underestimated not just her ability, but the team’s ability to rise up and make shots.”
After failing to crack 40-percent field-goal shooting in its firsts five games, Kentucky on Wednesday topped that mark for the third straight time. The Cats combined to hit 29 of 62 shots for 47 percent. They also had their best performance from the perimeter so far, hitting 10 of 22 three-point shots.
Consuegra said she believes Kentucky has a chance to make a deep postseason run because of the matchup problems it presents.
“They’re not comparable to anybody we’ve played, and we’ve beat two Power Five teams this year,” Consuegra said. “I think what makes them so good is you’ve got players at every position that can score, that can defend. They were able to switch every position with us and just stay in front of us. There’s not a lot of teams in the country that have that ability.”
UK also showed off some scoring diversity against the 49ers as six different Cats made shots from beyond the arc, including Sabrina Haines, who went 3-for-4.
Haines, the only Kentucky player other than Howard averaging double-figure scoring on the year, finished with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Jaida Roper scored 10 points to go along with four assists off the bench.
Kentucky’s defense stymied the 49ers, as it has most opponents this year. The Wildcats forced 22 turnovers, including a pair of shot-clock violations as they built their first-quarter lead. Charlotte (6-2) shot just 32 percent from the field and hit two of 17 three pointers.
Next game
Samford at No. 15 Kentucky
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Live video broadcast: SEC Network Plus (online only)
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 1:12 PM.
