Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard named AP First Team All-American for second year in a row

Players from the commonwealth make up two-fifths of this year’s Associated Press women’s basketball All-America team.

University of Kentucky junior Rhyne Howard and University of Louisville senior Dana Evans were joined on the 2021 squad announced Wednesday by UConn freshman Paige Bueckers, South Carolina sophomore Aliyah Boston and Baylor junior NaLyssa Smith.

Out of the five players, only Howard was a First Team All-American last season, when she became the first UK player ever to earn that title. Evans and Boston earned Second Team honors in 2020.

Howard has had a strong junior year, averaging 20.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals for the Wildcats.

“I think what makes Rhyne special is she can play the one through the five on both ends of the floor,” Kentucky Coach Kyra Elzy said. “She also makes the people around her better, upping her averages this year in rebounding, assists and steals.”

Howard is up for several other postseason honors. She has been named a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award, is one of 11 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy Women’s National Player of the Year, is on the national ballot for the Wooden Award and is a finalist for the Dawn Staley Award.

Howard will lead the Wildcats against Idaho State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon in San Antonio, Texas.

Evans was a key to Louisville’s regular-season ACC championship. She averaged 20 points and saved her best effort for the fourth quarter when she consistently would take over games to give the Cardinals the victory. She shot 92% from the free throw line.

“It’s a kid who’s worked from day one, trusted the process, came here as a freshman and played important minutes on the team that went to the Final Four but wasn’t the focal point,” Louisville Coach Jeff Walz said. “As her career evolved, more responsibility came and she stepped up to it each and every year.”

UConn’s Bueckers became only the third freshman to make the AP team, joining Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris and UConn’s Maya Moore.

Bueckers averaged 19.7 points, 6.1 assists and shot nearly 54% from the field and a remarkable 47% from three-point range.

“You see some of the things that Paige does with the ball, and you realize that if somebody told you she was a senior, you wouldn’t be surprised,” UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said. “She handles the ball like one and she sees the floor like one.”

Boston had a solid sophomore season for the Gamecocks, averaging 13.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and blocking 2.8 shots a game. She was a key reason that the Gamecocks won the SEC Tournament.

Smith has been a key reason for Baylor’s continued success. The junior forward led the team in scoring and rebounding as the Lady Bears won their 11th regular-season Big 12 title in a row. She averaged 18.1 points and shot 54% from the field.

The second team was headlined by North Carolina State’s Elissa Cunane. She was joined by Naz Hillmon, who is the first women’s player at Michigan to earn All-America honors. Aari McDonald of Arizona was on the second team for the second straight year. Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark, who led the nation in scoring and Charli Collier of Texas rounded out the squad.

The third team was Oklahoma State’s Natasha Mack, Maryland’s Ashley Owusu, UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere, Stanford’s Kiana Williams and Arkansas’ Chelsea Dungee.