New-look backcourt sparks No. 20 Kentucky in payback win over No. 16 Tennessee
What a difference three weeks makes.
In desperate need of a victory to keep pace in the Southeastern Conference race, the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team delivered on Thursday. Behind big efforts from Chasity Patterson and Jazmine Massengill, the 20th-ranked Wildcats knocked off No. 16 Tennessee 71-56 in Rupp Arena, avenging an ugly 17-point loss to the Volunteers last month.
Massengill drew her first start as a Wildcat against the team for whom she played two seasons before transferring in April. She started at point guard in place of Patterson, who moved over to shooting guard to begin the game.
Massengill was blindsided when UK Coach Kyra Elzy told the team she’d be starting for the first time in a Kentucky uniform.
“She just kind of announced it in shootaround, so it was just as shocking to me as it was to the team,” Massengill said during Thursday’s postgame teleconference. “I was grateful that I had a coach that trusts me enough to put me out there and start me. I was shocked, but I was very grateful.”
Massengill said the Cats were determined to prove their subpar performance in Knoxville was an aberration.
“We had kind of a chip on our shoulder. We’re a great team and we can compete with any team in the country, so that was a disappointing loss, so it kind of just fueled our intensity for this game,” Massengill said. “We just had to get a little payback.”
Elzy said she wanted to start Patterson off the ball so she’d be freed up to score, and the strategy was sound. Patterson scored a team-high 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Massengill was UK’s second-leading scorer, going 4-for-7 from the field for 11 points.
“I decided to start Jaz’ to get us settled in offensively. She understands what I’m looking for,” Elzy said. “But, also, a big key to that is trying to get Chasity to play more free. One thing that she can undeniably do is put the ball in the basket. But when the ball is in her hands for 40 minutes and she’s having to think it slows her from scoring. Tonight with Jazmine on the floor it freed her up, and Chasity put 21 points on the board.”
Patterson was a big fan of Elzy’s move.
“I definitely loved coming off the ‘2’ and having Jaz’ at the ‘1,’” Patterson said. “It was a great look for us. I know that Jaz’ can push the ball at the ‘1’ and get everybody open. It was just me knocking down shots at that guard spot, which was big for me.”
The new backcourt tandem rescued the Cats in the fourth quarter. After leading by 15 in the first half, UK entered the final period trailing 47-46 following a disastrous third quarter in which it was outscored 21-9. After UK pushed back ahead by two, Patterson sank a jumper to make it a two-possession game. Massengill followed with a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 60-53.
Patterson nailed a shot from the perimeter moments later to give the Cats a double-digit advantage, then Massengill provided the dagger with another trey to push the lead to 14 with less than two minutes to go. Kentucky (14-5, overall, 7-4 SEC) outscored Tennessee 25-9 in the fourth quarter to pull away.
After being dominated by the Vols in the paint during last month’s loss in Knoxville, the Cats appeared determined to prevent a repeat. UK was outrebounded 56-25 and outscored in the paint 44-18 in the first meeting meeting, but in the first half on Thursday played the Vols even on the boards, 23-23, and matched their scoring in the paint, 16-16. Tennessee (12-4, 6-2 SEC) finished with a 42-38 edge on the boards and 30-26 advantage in paint points, a far cry from the beat-down in the post UK suffered the first time around.
UK hit 10 of 20 three-point shots, with Patterson and Massengill each going 3-for-5 from long distance. UK shot 42 percent overall and held Tennessee to 35 percent. The Cats forced 16 turnovers and converted them into 24 points, while turning the ball over just nine times.
Certainly aiding Kentucky’s cause was the absence of talented Tennessee wing Rennia Davis, who remaining behind in Knoxville because of COVID-19 protocols. In the Vols’ rout of Kentucky last month, Davis crushed the Cats inside, scoring 15 points and grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds.
Patterson got going early. She scored underneath for UK’s first points of the night then nailed a three-pointer to give the Cats a 5-4 lead. She scored four quick points in the second quarter as UK pushed ahead 20-13. Patterson had a team-high 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting in the first half.
Rhyne Howard got off to a tough start shooting, but dominated the first half in other areas. She stole the ball and scored on a run-out for her only bucket of the first half, then forced two more turnovers that led to layups by Dre’una Edwards and Patterson as part of a 12-0 run that gave the Cats a 15-point lead. The Vols scored six straight to get back within double digits, but Patterson hit a late jumper that gave UK a 37-26 halftime advantage.
Howard had five steals, four rebounds and four assists before intermission. She finished with eight points on 4-for-13 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and seven steals.
After outscoring Tennessee 24-15 in the second quarter, the Cats came out cold in the third. UK missed 12 of its first 13 shots in the second half as the Vols opened with a 19-2 run to seize a 45-39 lead. Massengill finally stopped the bleeding, sinking a three-pointer with just under two minutes left in the third quarter.
The Cats reclaimed the lead, 48-47, early in the fourth on a mid-range jumper by Tatyana Wyatt. Howard followed with her seventh steal and a fast-break bucket.
Next game
No. 20 Kentucky at Florida
When: 7 p.m. Monday
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 9:25 PM.
