Howard, Kentucky bounce back in a big way for victory in Rupp Arena
Apparently, you can’t keep a great player down for long.
After an off day in last weekend’s loss at Tennessee, Rhyne Howard bounced back in a big way. The sophomore star scored 16 points and led the 15th-ranked University of Kentucky women’s basketball team to an 81-68 victory over Alabama in Rupp Arena on Thursday night.
It was the first of two games this season the Wildcats will host in Rupp Arena. UK and Tennessee are scheduled to meet there on Feb. 11 in a rematch of the Vols’ 70-53 victory.
UK Coach Kyra Elzy said it was important to Howard to get back on track following the loss at Tennessee.
“I’m really proud of Rhyne tonight, she struggled in our last game,” Elzy said. “We watch film together, and as talented as she is, she still wants to be coached, she still wants to learn, she still wants to be pushed in order to be the best. Resiliency is something that we’ve talked about all year. I thought her ability to bounce back after her last game was big. She started the game extremely aggressive.”
After trailing by 22, Alabama went on a 16-2 run and cut the deficit to 66-58 with less than five minutes to go in the game. After a timeout, the Wildcats reclaimed the momentum when Chasity Patterson and Robyn Benton hit back-to-back three-point shots.
Howard made just three field goals against Tennessee. On Thursday against the Crimson Tide, she hit three shots in the first five minutes. Her second three-pointer of the first quarter gave UK a 14-8 lead. Howard went 6-of-11 from the field and had eight rebounds and seven assists.
“Everyone was kind of down (after the Tennessee game). We knew that we did it to ourselves,” Howard said during a teleconference following Thursday’s win. “We knew that we had to come back and play Kentucky basketball today and all be together and look like one. Especially in the SEC, we knew we couldn’t have two back-to-back losses. We knew this one was gonna be big.”
Kentucky (12-4 overall, 5-3 SEC) was synced up nicely in the first half. The Cats opened the second quarter on a 14-2 run to open up a 34-20 advantage. Senior forward Tatyana Wyatt, who drew her first start of the season Thursday, scored six straight points in the second quarter. She twice cut hard to the basket and put home layups off pretty passes from Howard. The Cats had 12 assists on 16 field goals in the first half as they took a 39-28 lead into the locker room. UK finished with 23 total assists.
When Howard went to the bench with her second foul late in the first half, Alabama (12-3, 5-3 SEC) went on an 8-0 run to get back within six. Benton, who celebrated her 21st birthday Thursday, stopped the bleeding with a big three-pointer then followed with a layup on the next possession.
After Alabama cut the lead to eight early in the third quarter, Benton nailed another three to make it 43-32 UK.
“I am so proud of Robyn. She makes big plays for us, she’s always ready to score,” Elzy said. “But defensively, she hustles. She makes plays that might not show up on the stat sheet.
“I texted her earlier wishing her a happy birthday and she sends me a text back, ‘This is gonna be a great birthday Coach, let’s get this win.’”
Benton finished with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, knocking down six of her final eight shots after missing her first two. She added four rebounds. Benton said she planned to celebrate the win and her birthday by taking over the stereo in the locker room and dancing with her teammates.
“When I missed those first two I was like, ‘You know what, I’ve got to focus more, I’ve got to be ready to knock it down, especially on my birthday,” Benton said. “I did not want to have a bad shooting night on my birthday.”
After being dominated underneath against Tennessee, the Wildcats controlled the paint against the Crimson Tide. They out-rebounded Alabama by 10 in the first half and went on to win the battle of the boards 37-26.
“Just credit Kentucky, I thought they had great balance,” Alabama Coach Kristy Curry said. “They looked like have nine Power Five starters. ... We got absolutely annihilated on the boards by a team that just had that happen to them at Tennessee.”
Jazmine Massengill scored four straight points as UK threatened to pull away in the third quarter. She sank a jumper then hit two free throws after drawing a foul on the next possession. Massengill finished with seven points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Dre’una Edwards also had a nice bounce-back game after struggling against Tennessee. She had 10 points and four rebounds. Patterson had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
UK hit 10 of 18 shots from the perimeter and shot 53 percent overall. Kentucky has won 10 straight games against the Crimson Tide.
Next game
Missouri at No. 15 Kentucky
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Memorial Coliseum
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Missouri 6-5 (2-4 SEC), Kentucky 12-4 (5-3)
Series: Kentucky leads 8-4
Last meeting: Kentucky won 62-47 on Jan. 30, 2020, at Columbia, Mo.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 8:36 PM.
