Brutal loss on Senior Day costs Kentucky women double-bye in SEC Tournament
The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team had a chance in Sunday’s regular-season finale to gain a major edge heading into next week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament. The 19th-ranked Wildcats squandered that opportunity.
Following a furious first quarter, Kentucky went cold and was beaten by Mississippi 73-69 on Senior Day in Memorial Coliseum. It’s the second time the Rebels (10-10 overall, 4-10 SEC) have upset UK (16-7, 9-6 SEC) this season.
Because No. 17 Georgia beat Florida on Sunday, Kentucky finished fifth in the SEC standings. As the No. 5 seed, the Wildcats will have to play a second-round game in the SEC Tournament on Thursday. A win would have earned the Cats the No. 4 seed and a double-bye into the quarterfinals.
“It was just frustrating for everyone overall. I thought we had some really good looks, they didn’t go in, which forced us to play a little panicked,” UK Coach Kyra Elzy said. “I thought we started the game with the intensity we needed, it kind of tapered off … Today was not our day. Disappointing. We go back to work.”
The Wildcats led by as many as 11 points early, but Mississippi took a 34-31 lead on a three-pointer by Snudda Collins in the third quarter as part of a 23-9 run. The Cats reclaimed the lead 52-51 on a fourth-quarter layup by Chasity Patterson before Madison Scott hit a pair of free throws to give the Rebels the advantage for good, 55-54, with 4:18 to play. Collins nailed a three-pointer with 1:07 to go that pushed the lead to six and Ole Miss hit nine free throws to seal the win.
Collins scored 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Shakira Austin dominated the paint for the Rebels, scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The 6-foot-5 junior forward hit 10 of 12 free throws. Scott also pitched in a double-double for the Rebels with 12 points and 10 boards.
Despite forcing 19 turnovers, the Cats were undone by cold shooting. UK went 5-for-17 from beyond the arc and shot 33 percent overall, while the Rebels hit 44 percent of their field goals, including four of eight three-pointers.
Rhyne Howard led the Wildcats with 21 points and 16 rebounds but went just 6-for-25 from the field, missing all five of her three-point attempts. Patterson had 18 points on 5-for-10 shooting.
Howard also had an off shooting night in UK’s 72-60 loss to the Rebels in Oxford on Feb. 4, going 7-for-26 from the field. Mississippi Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said the Rebels’ defensive plan against the Cats is centered on exhausting Howard.
“She plays a lot of minutes, and we put four different people on her throughout the game, so our goal is just to wear her down. We know how special she is as a player … We knew it would take a team effort to wear her down and we have the type of personnel to be able to do that,” McPhee-McCuin said. “We just match up very well versus Kentucky. We’re very long.”
Patterson and Kameron Roach were honored during a Senior Day ceremony prior to the game. Patterson, who has played a crucial role in Kentucky’s success since transferring from Texas two years ago, chose to forego the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and will pursue a professional basketball career. Though just a redshirt junior in terms of eligibility, Roach graduated in December and will move on from the team following the season.
Roach started Sunday’s game and grabbed a rebound before heading to the bench amid a nice ovation.
UK came out firing, using a 10-0 run capped by a Howard layup to build a 22-11 lead. But the Wildcats went cold in the second quarter, scoring just nine points in the period and missing their last six shots as Mississippi closed the half with five straight points to pull within 31-25 at halftime.
SEC Tournament
When: Wednesday-Sunday
Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.
TV: SEC Network (first round through quarterfinals); ESPNU (Saturday’s semifinals); ESPN2 (Sunday’s finals)
This story was originally published February 28, 2021 at 2:28 PM.
