SEC story lines to watch as Kentucky women’s basketball tips off conference play
The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team is off to a fast start through the first third of the season, having amassed an 11-1 record that includes several blowout wins. Now, the Wildcats’ road to March is about to get quite a bit bumpier.
The lone blemish on UK’s record came via the only ranked team it faced in non-conference play. No. 7 Louisville edged the Cats 67-66 in Rupp Arena on Dec. 15 when Rhyne Howard’s attempted buzzer-beater came up short. But in that loss, after cutting its teeth on overmatched opponents, Kentucky proved it could stack up against top-level competition. And plenty of top-level competition is on the horizon.
Kentucky is about to open Southeastern Conference play and the league schedule is sure to be, as usual, a grind. Six of the SEC’s 14 teams are currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. The 13th-ranked Wildcats face No. 4 South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., on Thursday, then host No. 22 Tennessee in Memorial Coliseum on Sunday.
Also ranked are No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 15 Mississippi State and No. 20 Arkansas. The Cats will face all three this season (the Bulldogs and Aggies at home, the Razorbacks on the road). Here’s a look at some more of the biggest matchups throughout the league schedule, as well as other items of note as SEC play gets underway this week.
Early intrigue
On paper, Kentucky-South Carolina is clearly the marquee matchup of the early SEC schedule: The Gamecocks were picked to win the league in the preseason coaches poll while Kentucky was tabbed to finish fourth. Thursday’s opening-night slate features one other top-25 matchup: Texas A&M at Arkansas at 9 p.m.
On Jan. 9, two-time defending SEC regular-season champ Mississippi State travels to Missouri in a game that will be televised on the SEC Network at 7 p.m. The Tigers dealt the Bulldogs their only loss in SEC play last year.
Kentucky travels to Gainesville on Jan. 12, looking to win their fifth straight against Florida. That game will be televised on ESPNU at noon.
On Jan. 16 the Wildcats host Texas A&M at 6:30 on ESPNU. The Aggies were picked to finish second in the SEC by the league’s coaches. South Carolina hosts Mississippi State on Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Top players
Texas A&M’s Chennedy Carter was voted Preseason SEC Player of the Year and the junior guard has lived up to the billing so far. Carter is the top scorer among SEC players, averaging 22.8 points per game. The two-time All-American scored a season-high 31 in a 12-point win over Oklahoma State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge and has failed to score at least 20 just twice as the Aggies have built a 12-1 record.
Kentucky’s showdown with Texas A&M will feature the last two winners of both the SEC and National Freshman of the Year awards. Carter swept the honors in the 2017-18 season and Rhyne Howard swept them last season.
Howard, a preseason First Team All-SEC selection, is second to Carter in scoring among SEC players with an average of 20.9 points per game. She had a career-high 30 points in UK’s 79-49 victory over Samford on Dec. 8.
Sophomore forward Jessika Carter has played a major role in helping Mississippi State reload after the graduation of first-team all-league performers Teaira McCowan and Anriel Howard, both of whom were selected in the first round of the WNBA Draft. Carter is averaging a double-double at 13.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Auburn junior forward Unique Thompson is also averaging a double-double (18.9 points, 12.0 rebounds).
Quick start
After settling for an NIT bid last year, Arkansas has the look of an NCAA Tournament team. The Razorbacks went 22-15 overall and 6-10 in the SEC last season, but are off to a 12-1 start that has them ranked in the top 25 this year.
Junior guard Chelsea Dungee has contributed mightily to the turnaround. The preseason First Team All-SEC selection is averaging 19.8 points per game. She came up huge in the Razorbacks’ two biggest wins so far, scoring 27 against Wisconsin and 32 against Kansas State.
Tough start
After finishing fifth in the league and winning a first-round NCAA Tournament game last year, Missouri (3-10) is the only SEC team with a sub-.500 record. The Tigers have had a tough time replacing the production of Sophie Cunningham, who led the team in scoring on her way to First Team All-SEC honors last year as a senior.
Four of Missouri’s losses have come by a combined 16 points, one of them in overtime against Nebraska.
Tennessee
Eight-time national champion Tennessee stood for years as the SEC’s benchmark.
The Vols’ consistent level of national excellence departed when Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt retired in 2012, but the league remains at all times on high alert for the orange to reawaken its tradition.
Last April, Athletics Director Phillip Fulmer hired former Tennessee point guard Kellie Harper away from Missouri State to do just that.
Harper replaced Hollie Warlick, who was fired last March after a 19-13 season. Warlick was 172-67 in seven seasons after taking over for Summitt but failed to lead the Vols past the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight.
Harper, who played for three of Summit’s national title squads in the 1990s, has the Volunteers off to a 10-2 start in her first season.
“Kellie has proven to be a winner at every stop in her career, taking three programs to the NCAA Tournament,” Fulmer said upon hiring Harper. “She certainly knows the expectations that come with this job, as she has lived it herself.”
Thursday
No. 13 Kentucky at No. 4 South Carolina
When: 7 p.m.
TV: SEC Network whip-around coverage
Online: SEC Network Plus
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 11-1, South Carolina 12-1
Series: Kentucky leads 34-31
Last meeting: Kentucky won 65-57 on Feb. 21, 2019, at Columbia, S.C.
SEC standings
Arkansas 12-1
South Carolina 12-1
Texas A&M 12-1
Kentucky 11-1
Mississippi State 12-2
LSU 10-2
Tennessee 10-2
Alabama 10-3
Vanderbilt 10-3
Florida 9-4
Georgia 9-4
Auburn 6-5
Mississippi 7-6
Missouri 3-10
