Rhyne Howard’s career day leads Kentucky women to another blowout win.
As if she hadn’t already set a remarkable standard by turning in an incredible string of performances early in her college career, Rhyne Howard again raised the bar on Sunday. Behind a record day from the sophomore superstar, the No. 15 Kentucky women’s basketball team rolled over Samford, 79-49, in Memorial Coliseum to improve to 9-0 on the year.
Howard scored a career-high 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting and showed off the all-around ability that UK Coach Matthew Mitchell has often cited as one of the most dangerous aspects of her game. Howard knocked down five of eight shots from the perimeter, grabbed six rebounds and pitched in three assists and three steals. She twice previously scored 29 points, most recently in Wednesday’s 86-39 rout of Charlotte.
“There’s no doubt she’s just a huge part of our production offensively. She just continues to show signs of growth.” Mitchell said. “I thought she had some great, great finishes around the basket today … (I’m) happy for her. She’s been working hard. She’s a big part of what we do. Glad to see her have a big day.”
Howard set the tone early, nailing a three-pointer on the first possession of the game. She added another trey the next trip down court, quickly giving the Cats a 6-0 edge. She hit back-to-back shots to make in 28-16 UK early in the second quarter, then took on the role of facilitator. Howard sucked in the defense on the perimeter and zipped a pass to KeKe McKinney underneath for an easy bucket to stretch the lead to 12, then moments later hit McKinney with a nifty no-look dime to make it 37-20 Kentucky.
Howard got to 30 late in the fourth quarter by draining a mid-range base-line jumper off a pass from freshman guard Emma King. At the next dead ball, Mitchell pulled Howard and she headed to the bench amid a big ovation from the crowd.
“My teammates and coaches were trying to tell me how many more points I needed, so they were just like ‘stay aggressive,’” Howard said when asked whether she knew she was approaching her career scoring mark. “It felt good to finally break 29.”
After failing behind 9-0, the Bulldogs got hot from the perimeter. They went on a 14-4 run that included four three-pointers and took a 14-13 lead. The advantage didn’t last long.
After Mitchell called a timeout of his own, Blair Green, KeKe McKinney and Howard each nailed three-pointers within a two-minute span to reclaim the momentum and give the Wildcats a 22-14 edge at the end of the first quarter.
UK took firm control in the second quarter, outscoring Samford (3-8) by 13 to take a 41-20 lead into halftime.
Howard got plenty of help from her surrounding cast. Sabrina Haines scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds, while Amanda Paschal and Green each hit four of six shots and scored nine points. Kentucky shot 53 percent from the field and hit 11 of 23 three-pointers. Sunday marked the fourth straight game the Cats have shot better than 45 percent. They’ve beaten their opponents by an average of 30 points during that stretch.
UK has two games remaining on a seven-game home stand. They’ll play both of those inside Rupp Arena, beginning with Winthrop at 7 p.m. Wednesday. They’ll face their stiffest test of the season so far against No. 2 Louisville in Rupp at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Next game
Winthrop at No. 15 Kentucky
7 p.m. Wednesday in Rupp Arena
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 6:02 PM.
