Rhyne to the rescue: UK’s star steps up in tough victory over Missouri
On a day when most of her teammates struggled, Kentucky’s superstar came to the rescue.
Rhyne Howard scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the 15th-ranked UK women’s basketball team held off Missouri 61-55 in Memorial Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a great luxury to have,” UK Coach Kyra Elzy said of Howard’s dependability. “I mean, Rhyne Howard just shows why she is the best. She has so much confidence in her teammates, she knows how to distribute the ball. She makes everyone around her better.
“But it’s not just her scoring. She got rebounds today, she tried to hustle defensively. She took a charge. ”
Trailing from the opening moments of the first quarter, Missouri took a lead with 3:56 to play when LaDazhia Williams scored through contact and hit the free throw to make it 52-50 Tigers.
Moments later UK’s Dre’una Edwards hit a pair of free throws to halt a 9-0 Missouri run and pull the Cats within one. After UK forced a Missouri shot-clock violation for the fifth time, Edwards scored on a put back to make it 54-53. Edwards then came up with a huge rebound that led to Chasity Patterson hitting one of two free throws to give UK a two-point lead.
Howard secured a double-double with her 10th rebound of the game with 18 seconds to go, then KeKe McKinney hit a pair of foul shots to clinch the win.
Howard hit seven of 15 shots from the field. The rest of the Wildcats combined to go 15-for-45.
Howard also dished out three assists. She said after the game that it’s important for the Cats to learn how to grind out tough wins when things aren’t going as well as they’d like.
“All these wins are going to add up at the end of the season, so for us to be able to push through adversity and stay together is big for us, and something we need for a confidence boost,” Howard said. “It starts in practice. The coaches put us through adversity in practice so we know how to prepare for when it happens in a game.”
Edwards was also clutch for the Cats, pitching in 10 points and nine boards.
“I’m so proud of Dre, she definitely took a step forward tonight,” Elzy said. “In the past when she’s missed some shots around the rim or the referees have called some fouls that she didn’t like it really has taken her out of her game. So, for her to miss a shot down the stretch, go back (and) get the rebound, focus and finish — that’s huge growth for her.”
Missouri outrebounded UK 35-30. Aijha Blackwell had 19 rebounds and 13 points for Missouri. Williams scored a game-high 23 points in the loss.
Three members of the Kentucky men’s team watched the slugfest firsthand. Jacob Toppin, Brandon Boston and Terrence Clarke were in the crowd Sunday.
They witnessed a first half that was anything but pretty. Both teams missed several layups and and neither could get it going from the perimeter. Missouri (6-6 overall, 2-5 SEC) missed all 10 of its three-point tries in the first half and Kentucky went just 1-for-5. Robyn Benton hit a three-pointer with nine seconds left to give UK a 28-18 halftime lead. Kentucky (13-4, 5-3 SEC) missed eight of 11 layups in the first two quarters.
While the Wildcats struggled to find their rhythm on offense in the first half, their defense was active and effective. They held Missouri to 29 percent field-goal shooting and forced eight turnovers before halftime, converting them into 12 points.
UK held Missouri to 38-percent shooting. The Tigers knocked down just one of 18 shots from the perimeter.
Howard nearly had a double-double in the first half, scoring seven points and grabbing eight rebounds.
McKinney got the Cats off on the right foot early in the third quarter, nailing a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 31-18. Missouri’s Williams then went to work in the paint. Three straight trips down the floor the 6-foot-4 forward managed to post up against UK guards and score layups, cutting Kentucky’s lead to seven and prompting a timeout by the Wildcats.
Out of the break, Howard scored underneath while being fouled and hit the free throw. She converted another old-fashioned three-point play moments later to stretch UK’s lead to 39-29.
The Tigers got their offense going down the stretch in the third. They hit eight of 12 shots in the quarter, most of them from point-blank range, and outscored the Cats 21-14 in the period to cut UK’s advantage to 42-39 heading into the fourth.
Rebels on deck
Next up for the Cats is a trip to Mississippi to face the Rebels on Thursday. Mississippi lost its sixth straight game on Sunday, falling at LSU in overtime. The Rebels’ only SEC win came over shorthanded Auburn, 62-58, on Jan. 7. The Tigers were without All-SEC senior forward Unique Thompson in that contest.
On Jan. 28, the Rebels nearly upset No. 20 Tennessee on the road, at one point leading by 13 before the Volunteers stormed back for a 68-67 victory. Tennessee beat Kentucky by 17 points four days prior.
Mississippi is led by 6-foot-5 junior forward Shakira Austin, who was voted to the preseason All-SEC Second Team. Austin spent two seasons at Maryland as a teammate of UK’s Olivia Owens before transferring to Mississippi. Heading into Sunday, Austin was averaging 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Donnetta Johnson, a 5-foot-11 sophomore guard, was averaging 13.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
Mississippi went 7-23 overall and 0-16 in the SEC last season and was dominated by Kentucky 94-52 in Oxford.
Next game
No. 15 Kentucky at Mississippi
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Online: SEC Network Plus
This story was originally published January 31, 2021 at 3:25 PM.
