Kentucky women kick off second half of SEC schedule looking for sweep of Florida
Halfway through the Southeastern Conference season, the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team has put itself in strong position to make a run at an all-important top-four seeding in the league tournament.
On Thursday, the 13th-ranked Wildcats (17-3 overall, 6-2 SEC) rolled to an easy victory at Missouri as Amanda Paschal scored a career-high 18 points, tripling her season average. Paschal’s big night, along with a 12-point performance by Chasity Patterson and an 11-point effort from Blair Green, helped make up for the absence of leading scorer Rhyne Howard. The sophomore star missed the Missouri game after fracturing a finger late in last week’s win over Auburn. Howard is not expected to return until mid-February.
The Wildcats kick off the back half of the SEC schedule Sunday when they host Florida (11-10, 2-6) in Memorial Coliseum, and they’re looking for a regular-season sweep of the Gators. UK pulled away in the second half for a 65-45 victory in Gainesville on Jan. 12. Patterson scored a career-high 20 points in the victory. Howard led all scorers with 22 points.
“We were able to beat Florida down there, but you take away Rhyne’s contribution in the game and it looks like a pretty even game there,” UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said at Friday’s press conference. “Happy about (beating Missouri) but man, we’ve got to keep on going and stay focused and see if we can outhustle Florida on Sunday.”
Florida is led in scoring by freshman guard Lavender Briggs, who averages 14 points per game. In Gainesville, Kentucky held Briggs to just two points on 1-for-8 shooting.
Kentucky is currently tied with Texas A&M for fourth place in the SEC standings, one game behind Mississippi State and Tennessee and two games behind first-place South Carolina. The top four finishers earn a double-bye in the conference tournament.
“The only way we can take care of anything is winning games. And Rhyne’s absence really puts everybody on high alert, heightened sense of awareness. It reduces our margin for error,” Mitchell said. “If we could get a win on Sunday, that improves our position for seeding. It’s very competitive right now in our conference.”
The Wildcats are hopeful Ogechi Anyagaligbo can return to the lineup against the Gators. The senior forward has missed two straight games after suffering a concussion in the lead-up to last week’s win over Auburn. Anyagaligbo has been practicing with the team and traveled to Missouri, but she has not yet been cleared to play.
Sunday
Florida at No. 13 Kentucky
When: 1 p.m. EST
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: UK 17-3 (6-2 SEC); Florida 11-10 (2-6 SEC)
Series: UK leads 32-25
Last meeting: UK won 65-45 on Jan. 12, 2020, in Gainesville, Fla.
