‘Those shots that she hit were absolutely huge.’ Wyatt gives Kentucky lift in loss.
If the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team was going to knock off No. 7 Louisville in Rupp Arena on Sunday, the Wildcats clearly couldn’t rely solely on sophomore superstar Rhyne Howard.
UK came up just short, falling to the Cardinals 67-66 when Howard’s attempted buzzer-beater bounced off the rim, but the Cats were in position to win it at the end thanks in large part to a big effort from Tatyana Wyatt.
The junior forward scored a season-high 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting and grabbed a team-best five rebounds. She hit a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter, the second of which gave Kentucky a 10-point lead, and secured the rebound that led to Kentucky’s opportunity to win on the final possession.
Senior guard Sabrina Haines, who scored 12 points and had four assists against the Cardinals, said Wyatt’s contributions were invaluable.
“I think, momentum-wise, those shots that she hit were absolutely huge. She got me some assists, so that made me feel a little better. But we were kind of struggling a little bit at the time and the fact that she was able to hit those shots when we needed them, it really helped a lot.”
Howard said fans can expect to see more big games from Wyatt going forward.
“Tat’s a great player. When we bring her out she makes a lot of things happen for us,” Howard said. “We just try to get her the ball as much as we can because we know she can knock down that shot and we know she can get to the rim for us.”
Wyatt said the Wildcats were certainly disappointed they didn’t come away with a win, but they’re bullish on the team’s prospects moving forward.
“I don’t think it knocks our confidence down. If anything, I think it’s building us up even more, since it’s showing us how good we can be in the future and it’s getting us ready for tough SEC teams,” Wyatt said. “So, I think today was not the outcome that we wanted, but it was something that showed us where we can go.”
Ex-Cats in the house
Several former UK players were among the announced crowd of 11,256 on Sunday, including Makayla Epps and Victoria Dunlap. They helped spell out ‘Kentucky’ on the Rupp floor at halftime, along with A’dia Mathies, who was also honored for her UK achievements during a timeout in the first quarter.
Mathies graduated in 2013 as part of the winningest class in program history. She was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame this year. During her four seasons at UK the Wildcats went 111-30 and and advanced to the Elite Eight three times. Mathies, who holds the program record for steals (320) and ranks second in scoring (2,014), was named SEC Player of the Year as both a junior and senior and was a second-team All-American in 2013.
Mathies currently works in the human resources department of a non-profit organization in her home town of Louisville. She said she still follows the Cats closely and catches as many games as she can, whether in person or on TV, and has spent some time around the current team.
“I’ve been to a few practices, I try to come around a little bit. They’re a very good group. They’re very energetic and have a lot of passion. I’m looking forward to seeing where they go from here.”
Mathies was puzzled when earlier this season the Cats dropped from No. 14 to No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll after a pair of blowout wins.
“I was actually confused why they would drop in the rankings when they never lost a game,” Mathies said. “But now everyone can see that they can compete at a high level. They had the opportunity to win this game and they can play with anybody.”
