As UK marches toward postseason, here’s the No. 1 task on Kyra Elzy’s to-do list.
As the college basketball season barrels toward March, the University of Kentucky women’s team has once again put itself in position to challenge for a top seed in both the Southeastern Conference and NCAA tournaments.
Boasting a national player of the year candidate in Rhyne Howard and a deep rotation filled with new weapons under first-year head coach Kyra Elzy, UK (13-4 overall, 6-3 SEC) is tied for fourth in the SEC standings and owns a pair of wins over top-15 teams.
But at times, a familiar bugaboo has plagued the Cats: the struggle to protect the paint.
That issue came to a head during Kentucky’s 17-point loss at Tennessee on Jan. 24. The Volunteers outrebounded the Cats 56-25 and outscored them in the paint 44-18.
“If I could snap my fingers and fix one thing, it would be keeping the ball out of the paint,” Elzy said during a teleconference following Sunday’s win over Missouri. “Making (opponents) score outside the paint, one shot and out.”
Following the Tennessee loss, Elzy and her staff challenged the Cats to renew their commitment to defending the post, and the team has shown improvement in back-to-back victories over Alabama and Missouri.
“Have we gotten better? Absolutely. We’ve taken a step forward in our defense,” Elzy said.
In the 81-68 victory over Alabama on Jan. 28, the Cats outrebounded the Crimson Tide 37-26 and edged them on paint points 28-26. They had a tougher go during the 61-55 win over Missouri. The Tigers won the rebound battle 35-30 and outscored UK in the paint 34-24.
“We still have work to do, but that’s part of the journey of a basketball season,” Elzy said. “You continue to work on your deficiencies and while you’re doing that you find a way to win basketball games. That’s the name of the game.”
Vols on pause
Tennessee has paused team activities in accordance with COVID protocols because of a combination of a positive test, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the Volunteers’ Tier 1 personnel — which consists of coaches, players, team managers and support staff — it was announced Wednesday.
ESPN and SEC Network analyst Courtney Lyle reported on Twitter that Tennessee’s upcoming games against Mississippi State (Feb. 4) and Texas A&M (Feb. 7) have been postponed. Tennessee is currently still scheduled to face Kentucky in Rupp Arena on Feb. 11.
Howard makes cut
Rhyne Howard has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List, which tracks candidates for national player of the year. The announcement was made Monday on the heels of Howard’s 22-point, 10-rebound performance in the Wildcats’ hard-fought victory over visiting Missouri.
The ballot will eventually be narrowed to 15 players. The Wooden Award All American Team will be announced the week of the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight and the winner of the Wooden Award will be announced following the completion of the tournament in April.
Last season, Howard was named to the Wooden Award All-American Team, making her a finalist for national player of the year. Howard is the only player on this year’s late season top 20 watch list that was named to the All-American team last season.
Some of Howard’s best performances this season have come against ranked opponents. In seven games against foes ranked in the AP Top 25 poll, Howard is shooting nearly 50 percent from the field while averaging 23.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
Howard was also named to the Cheryl Miller Award Top 10 Watch List on Wednesday. Named after the three-time Naismith Player of the Year, the Cheryl Miller award recognizes the top small forward in the country. Howard was also a finalist last season.
Rebels up next
The Cats next face a tough-luck Mississippi squad on the road Thursday. The Rebels lost their sixth straight game on Sunday, falling at LSU in overtime, 75-66. They also lost an overtime game at home to LSU on Jan. 4. Mississippi’s lone SEC win this season 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. Since starting the season with six straight blowout wins (the closest being a 17-point victory over Kansas), the Rebels have lost seven of eight.
“They’re playing extremely hard right now,” UK’s Elzy said of the Rebels during a Tuesday teleconference. “I told the players, their record is not indicative of who they are. They’re athletic, they play hard ... They’re a very dangerous team.”
Mississippi (7-7 overall, 1-7 SEC) is 12th out of 14 teams in the SEC standings, ahead of only Vanderbilt — which in mid-January canceled the remainder of its season because of COVID-19, injuries and opt-outs — and Auburn, which is 0-8 in league play.
Kentucky is tied for fourth in the SEC standings at 6-3 along with LSU.
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. Austin is averaging 16.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Donnetta Johnson, a 5-foot-11 sophomore guard, averages 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
Mississippi went 7-23 overall and 0-16 in the SEC last season and was dominated by Kentucky, 94-52, in Oxford.
Thursday
No. 15 Kentucky at Mississippi
When: 7 p.m.
TV: SEC Network Plus
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: UK 13-4 (6-3 SEC), Mississippi 7-7 (1-7 SEC)
Series: Mississippi leads 23-19
Last meeting: UK won 94-52 on Feb. 20, 2020, in Oxford, Miss.
SEC standings
South Carolina: 9-0 (14-1)
Texas A&M: 7-1 (16-1)
Tennessee: 6-1 (12-3)
Kentucky: 6-3 (13-4)
LSU: 6-3 (8-7)
Georgia: 5-4 (13-4)
Alabama: 5-4 (12-4)
Mississippi State: 3-4 (8-5)
Arkansas: 3-5 (13-6)
Missouri: 2-5 (6-6)
Florida: 2-7 (9-8)
Ole Miss: 1-7 (7-7)
Vanderbilt: 0-3 (4-4)
Auburn: 0-8 (5-11)
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 12:52 PM.
