‘She’s a tiny, power-packed peanut.’ At 5-foot-5, UK point guard is a game-changer.
During the first half of a season that’s seen its new head coach miss a game because of a medical issue, its star player and a key veteran serve suspensions, and myriad lineup changes as coaches piece together the puzzle, this year’s University of Kentucky women’s basketball team has enjoyed one constant: senior point guard Chasity Patterson.
In her first full season as a Wildcat, Patterson is UK’s only player to start all 12 games. The diminutive dynamo is Kentucky’s second-leading scorer (13.2 points per game) and is averaging 3.2 assists while repeatedly demonstrating a penchant for hitting important shots in big moments. In UK’s loss to No. 5 South Carolina on Jan. 10, her eight-point outburst late in the fourth quarter included a pair of threes and gave the Cats a chance to tie in the closing seconds.
As good as she’s been on offense, the 5-foot-5 transfer from Texas is most disruptive on defense. She leads the Southeastern Conference and is sixth in the NCAA with a 4.2 steals-per-game average. In Kentucky’s 61-point rout of Wofford last month, Patterson pitched in a rare double-double of 17 points and 10 steals.
“She’s a tiny, power-packed peanut. She’s not going to back down,” UK Coach Kyra Elzy told the Herald-Leader over the phone. “Chasity brings that toughness. She knows that she’s not the biggest on the court but what she can use is her athleticism and her quickness to her advantage. She’s never one to back down from a challenge. She’s going to make sure her presence is known.”
Asked if she’s ever coached a player with a stronger instinct and ability to generate turnovers, Elzy gave Patterson the slight edge over former UK star Taylor Murray, who graduated in 2019 with 287 steals, fourth-most in program history. Murray averaged 2.3 steals per game over four seasons while Patterson is averaging 2.4 steals in 31 games as a Wildcat.
“Taylor Murray was a steal machine herself, but Chas is just so fast,” Elzy said. “I’ll literally turn my head to talk to one of the coaches and I’ll turn back around and she’s laying the ball up after a steal. ... She just has a knack for the basketball.”
Elzy said Patterson’s game has improved tremendously since she arrived on campus last season, when she missed the first half of the year because of the NCAA transfer rule.
“Last year she was trying to find her way, where she fit in this program,” Elzy said. “This year she’s playing with so much confidence. She really took the point guard role to heart over the summer and really studied the game.”
Elzy was not easy on Patterson as she molded her into the team’s conductor, and Patterson took the tough-love coaching in stride.
“I gave her a hard time about people not being in position, or people not knowing the plays, et cetera. Then I’ll have a one-on-one meeting and I’m like, ‘Is there anything we can do for you Chas, how can we help you?’ And she’ll say, ‘Coach, you’re doing a great job,” Elzy said. “She takes the coaching, she takes the criticism, she takes us pushing her because she wants to get better as a player individually, but she wants to help this team achieve the goals that we set out.”
Asked if she gains a bigger thrill from nailing a clutch three-pointer or picking an opponent’s pocket, Patterson didn’t hesitate.
“It’s a steal, man. It’s the steals, they get me going,” Patterson said. “The threes are fun, but the steals and the defense gets the team going, so that’s something I really look forward to.”
Patterson is nearly always the smallest player on the court. She views the size disparity as a fun challenge rather than a disadvantage.
“It’s not intimidating to me, it’ been like that my whole life,” Patterson said. “I actually enjoy that. I enjoy seeing myself out there playing against the best people in the country ... It feels good to know that I can compete at this level.”
Date with ‘Dores
Kentucky (9-3 overall, 2-2 SEC) next takes the court Sunday when the Wildcats host Vanderbilt. The Commodores, whose early schedule has been drastically affected by the pandemic, are 4-3 on the year and lost their first two conference games against Alabama (80-56) and South Carolina (106-43).
Vandy was originally slated to open the SEC season with games at Mississippi State and Missouri but those meetings were postponed because of COVID-19 protocols. Three scheduled non-conference games to open the regular season were canceled, as was a Dec. 28 meeting with Samford.
Last time out, Vandy was steamrolled at home by the Gamecocks, who last Sunday narrowly escaped Kentucky, 75-70.
The Commodores upset UK, 70-64, in last year’s regular-season finale for both teams. Mariella Fasoula scored a team-high 24 points in the win in her final home game as a Commodore. Rhyne Howard led the Cats with 26 points.
Vandy has five players averaging double-figure scoring this season, led by 6-foot sophomore forward Koi Love (19.1 points per game), who also leads the team in rebounding (9.7). Chelsie Hall, a 5-foot-7 senior guard, averages 14.1 points and 4.0 assists.
Senior guard Enna Pehadzic, a native of Denmark, also averages double-figure scoring (13.1), as does 5-foot-10 junior forward Brinae Alexander. Brylee Bartram averages 10.1 points and is the team’s best three-point threat, shooting 35 percent from the perimeter.
Sunday
Vanderbilt at No. 12 Kentucky
When: 5 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: UK 9-3 (2-2 SEC); Vanderbilt 4-3 (0-2 SEC)
Series: Vanderbilt leads 29-24
Last meeting: Vanderbilt won 70-64 on March 1, 2020, in Nashville.
