‘She’s the best player in the country.’ Howard leads UK past Mississippi St. in OT.
A win is a win, no matter how graceful the journey.
On Sunday, the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team proved it can win ugly.
Behind a stunning second-half effort from All-American superstar Rhyne Howard, the 13th-ranked Wildcats rallied from a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to knock off No. 12 Mississippi State 92-86 in overtime in Starkville, Miss.
Despite struggling to stop the Bulldogs’ dribble-drive offense and trailing the majority of the second half, Kentucky got the game to overtime thanks to a late 9-0 run punctuated by a three-pointer from Howard.
The Cats dug an early four-point hole in overtime, but Howard came to the rescue again with an eight-point eruption that included a three-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play after rebounding Dre’una Edwards’ missed free throw. Edwards knocked down a pair of foul shots moments later to ice the game.
“She showed today why she’s the best player in the country. She can take over at any time,” UK Coach Kyra Elzy said of Howard. “When it’s time to take over … she’ll give me that look, she’ll call for a certain play and we just have that connection.
“When it’s time to make big plays we put the ball in her hands and let her do what she does best.”
Howard scored 25 of her game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and added 10 rebounds and six assists. She knocked down nine of 10 foul shots and four of six three-pointers.
“In the second half it started coming to me more and my shot started falling bit more, so my teammates were looking for me,” Howard said. “I kept hitting them, so I kept taking them.”
KeKe McKinney and Chasity Patterson scored 11 points each and Robyn Benton added 10, connecting on two of three shots from the perimeter. The Cats went 14-for-28 beyond the arc and shot 49 percent from the field.
It was a nip-and-tuck affair throughout the first half, with the teams trading leads eight times. Howard picked up her second foul just over four minutes into the first quarter and spent the bulk of the period on the bench.
McKinney led the way in Howard’s absence, knocking down a pair of three-pointers and scoring eight of her 11 points before halftime. As a team, the Cats hit seven of 15 shots from downtown in the first half and took a 36-34 lead into the locker room.
The Cats struggled to contain Mississippi State’s dribble-drive offense throughout the game, giving up a slew of point-blank buckets. The Bulldogs at one point in the third quarter went on a 10-0 run as they reclaimed the lead, 54-53, on a layup by Xaria Wiggins. Mississippi State shot 85 percent from the field and scored 25 points in the third quarter, taking a two-point lead into the fourth.
The Bulldogs pushed ahead by six before Howard came alive, scoring eight straight points to pull the Cats within 69-68. Moments later, Howard hit a three to give UK a 78-75 lead and prompt a Mississippi State timeout.
Jessika Carter scored while being fouled and sank the free throw to tie the game, 78-78. UK had a chance to take the final shot of regulation but couldn’t inbounds the ball and was whistled for a five-second violation. Mississippi State’s Rickea Jackson missed a runner in the closing seconds, then Jazmine Massengill’s three-quarter court prayer went unanswered for the Cats, sending the game to overtime.
Jackson led the Bulldogs with 23 points. Carter scored 14 and grabbed 13 rebounds. Despite a decisive size disadvantage, UK won the rebound battle 35-34. Mississippi State scored 54 points in the paint and shot 49 percent from the field.
Aggies on deck
Next up for Kentucky is a trip to College Station, Texas, for a meeting with No. 9 Texas A&M on Thursday. The Aggies opened their SEC schedule Sunday with a 92-67 victory at Florida.
Last season the Wildcats dominated Texas A&M 76-54 in Lexington, thanks largely to a 24-point, 11-rebound effort from Howard. Blair Green also came up big in that contest, hitting three of five shots from the perimeter and scoring 13 points.
Texas A&M was voted this season by SEC coaches to finish third in the conference behind South Carolina and Kentucky. The Aggies have already beaten two ranked teams, picking up road victories at No. 19 Texas and No. 18 DePaul — which knocked off Kentucky 86-82 on Dec. 16.
Four starters remain from last year’s Texas A&M squad that finished tied for third in league play at 10-6 along with Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee. N’dea Jones, an All-SEC first team selection last year, is one of the most dominant post players in the country. The 6-foot-2 senior forward entered Sunday averaging 12.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Next game
No. 13 Kentucky at No. 9 Texas A&M
8:30 p.m. Thursday (SEC Network)
This story was originally published January 3, 2021 at 3:36 PM.
