A tribute to Kobe, Howard nears 1,000 and more from another Kentucky win
Monday night marked the triumphant return of a key veteran for the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team.
Junior forward KeKe McKinney came off the bench and matched her career high with 13 points as the 13th-ranked Wildcats held on to knock off Auburn, 68-61, in Memorial Coliseum.
McKinney missed the previous four games because of recurring migraine-type headaches. She got a nice round of applause from fans when she entered the game at the 6:20 mark of the first quarter. She got another when she hit a jumper from the baseline for her first points.
“Just an amazing performance on a night when we needed it. We’ve been missing her,” Kentucky Coach Matthew Mitchell said of McKinney. “She really showed up big for us and had as good a game as anybody ... Her performance tonight coming back after that long layoff, amazing. And we would have had a hard time winning without her.”
McKinney made all six of her shots and grabbed eight rebounds in 29 minutes. Kentucky (16-3, 5-2 SEC) led 44-28 at halftime.
Junior forward Unique Thompson scored a game-high 27 for Auburn (7-11, 1-6).
Auburn went on an 11-0 run in the third quarter and eventually tied the game 51-51. McKinney put the Cats back up two with a rebound and layup, then hit a three to make it 59-51.
There was a scary moment for the Cats when Rhyne Howard left the game with about three minutes left in the third quarter after attempting to force a held-ball. She left the court favoring her left hand and went to the locker room, clearly in pain.
Howard returned to the bench early in the fourth quarter with two fingers taped together and re-entered the game with five minutes left. She hit a tough left-handed shot in traffic to put UK up 61-58.
Howard went to the foul line with 30 seconds left. Amanda Paschal tied her shoe for her, much to the crowd’s delight, then Howard hit two free throws to make it 65-61 Kentucky. She iced the game with another free throw, followed by a block. Howard finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.
“She was tough. She’s in some pain right now so we’ll see what happens, we’ll get an X-ray,” Mitchell said. “Boy, she came back in after getting some treatment and made some huge plays for us.
Howard told the media after the game that she dislocated the knuckle in her pinkie finger.
Sabrina Haines scored a team-high 17 for Kentucky, making five of 10 shots from the field, including four of eight beyond the arc. She hit back-to-back three-pointers late in the third quarter to blunt an Auburn run.
“She did it again tonight,” Mitchell said of Haines. “We were really back-pedaling at that time. They had wrestled the momentum from us ... we were not a confident bunch at the time. We were not mentally sharp and I felt like it was maybe slipping away from us there and she just stepped up and made some huge plays for us.
“When that momentum changes and you’re on the wrong side of that it is not a good feeling and you have to find some strength somewhere .. and boy, she really made some big shots for us to steady the ship.”
Mamba tribute
Several Wildcats wore Kobe Bryant edition Nike shoes in honor of the NBA legend who died along with one of his daughters and seven others in a helicopter crash on Sunday. “RIP #24” was written on one of McKinney’s shoes. “Mamba Mentality” was written on the other.
“It’s crazy how much you feel like you have a connection to somebody you don’t even know. He was a legend, a GOAT,” McKinney said. “It was a big loss, I think, for everyone in the basketball community. That was very tough to hear.“
Cusp of the club
After Monday’s effort, Rhyne Howard needs just 34 points to become the 35th member of the UK women’s basketball 1,000-point club. Last year, seniors Maci Morris and Taylor Murray achieved the milestone.
Assuming she manages to cross the threshold within her next 14 games, Howard will be the second-fastest Wildcat to score 1,000 points. UK legend Valerie Still, who last year was voted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, got there in just 44 games. UK Athletics Hall of Fame member Leslie Nichols eclipsed 1,000 points in 66 games.
Elite Treasure
Last week Kentucky commit Treasure Hunt was one of 24 players named to the 2020 All-American Game roster. That honor came one week after Hunt was one of 25 players named to the Naismith HIgh School Girls Trophy Midseason Team.
Hunt will be the first UK recruit to appear in the McDonald’s All-American Game since Taylor Murray n 2015. Current Wildcat Chasity Patterson was a Texas commit when she suited up for the game in 2017.
Hunt, rated by ESPN.com as a five-star guard, is a friend and former AAU teammate of Rhyne Howard. She’s currently averaging 21.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists as a senior at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Next game
No. 13 Kentucky at Missouri
7 p.m. Thursday (SEC Network)
