No. 12 Kentucky will face an All-SEC forward in matchup with Auburn
An extended break came at a perfect time for the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team.
After a tough loss at LSU in which they rallied from an 18-point, fourth-quarter deficit to close within two possessions, the Wildcats got seven days off to rest up. The trip to Baton Rouge ended a grueling stretch in which Kentucky (15-3, 4-2 SEC) played four out of six games on the road. The Cats return to the conference grind on Monday night in a matchup with Auburn in Memorial Coliseum.
It’s been a tough start to SEC play for the Tigers, who defeated visiting Mississippi last Thursday for their first conference win. Auburn (7-10, 1-5 SEC) lost five straight games, all by double digits, prior to that.
But UK can’t afford to look past Monday’s game. Auburn junior forward Unique Thompson has the kind of size and scoring ability that could give the Cats trouble. The 6-foot-3 junior forward, who was voted preseason second-team All-SEC by the league’s coaches and media, averages 16.3 points and 12.1 rebounds per game to lead the Tigers in both categories. When the teams met last season Thompson scored a game-high 20 points, but the Wildcats came away with a 78-68 victory.
Auburn is among the most inexperienced teams in the SEC this season. Thomson and senior guard Daisa Alexander are the only upperclassmen on the Tigers’ 13-player roster. Alexander is the team’s second-leading scorer at 13.7 points per game. In December, she became the 34th player in program history to score at least 1,000 career points.
Though Auburn leads the all-time series 26-23, Kentucky has owned the recent past. The Wildcats have won four straight and 11 of the last 12 matchups. The Tigers last won in Lexington in 2006. They’ve not beaten a ranked opponent on the road since 2014.
The break between the LSU loss and Monday’s matchup was a good opportunity for Rhyne Howard to recharge. The star sophomore has been busy of late, scoring 20 or more points in eight straight games for the Cats. She leads the SEC in scoring at 23.9 per game.
Kentucky could get a boost from the return of KeKe McKinney, who has missed four straight games because of recurring migraine-type headaches. Coach Matthew Mitchell was hopeful the 6-foot-1 junior forward would be ready to return after the break. McKinney has started 14 games this season.
Monday
Auburn at No. 12 Kentucky
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Memorial Coliseum
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 15-3 (4-2 SEC); Auburn 7-10 (1-5)
Series: Auburn leads 26-23
Last meeting: Kentucky won 78-68 on Feb. 7, 2019, in Auburn.
This story was originally published January 26, 2020 at 4:06 PM.
