Kentucky needed a Senior Night win for two reasons. See how the Cats got it done.
With March Madness fast approaching, the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team scored two major accomplishments Thursday night: It sent its five seniors out with a victory in their final home game and it held ground in the fight for a top-four seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Rhyne Howard scored a game-high 25 points, leading the 15th-ranked Wildcats to an 88-77 victory over Georgia in Memorial Coliseum on Senior Night. In her final home game as a Wildcat, Sabrina Haines pitched in 15 points, two off her career high.
Ogechi Anyagaligbo got the Cats off on the right foot, scoring four points and grabbing four rebounds early in the first quarter. Haines knocked down a three-pointer to give UK a 22-13 lead. But after a timeout, Georgia (15-13, 6-9) ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to close within 22-20.
Howard hit her first four three-pointers of the game and scored 12 in the first half, helping the Wildcats build a 14-point second-quarter lead before heading to the bench after picking up her second foul. She scored 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Cats pulled away.
Kentucky (21-6, 10-5 SEC) entered the game tied with Arkansas for fourth place in the league standings. The Razorbacks, who own the tiebreaker over the Cats because of their victory in the only regular-season meeting between the teams, were scheduled to face No. 10 Mississippi State late Thursday. The top four finishers in the SEC standings earn double byes into the quarterfinals of next week’s conference tournament.
Senior send-off
Prior to tip-off Thursday, UK staged a ceremony honoring the program’s five seniors: Sabrina Haines, Jaida Roper, Amanda Paschal, Ogechi Anyagaligbo and Nae Nae Cole. Haines, Roper and Anyagaligbo started the game.
UK has now won 14 of its last 17 games on Senior Night.
Next game
No. 15 Kentucky at Vanderbilt
2:05 p.m. Sunday
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 9:09 PM.
