Behind their All-American star, UK women shake off slow start to win NCAA opener
On Wednesday, University of Kentucky star Rhyne Howard was named a first-team All-American. On Thursday, she was named a finalist for National Player of the Year. On Sunday, she showed why.
Behind Howard’s near double-double, the fourth-seeded Wildcats rallied from a slow start and knocked off No. 13 seed Idaho State 71-63 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in San Antonio. It’s UK’s 12th straight opening-round win in the Big Dance.
Kentucky (18-8 overall) will face No. 5 seed Iowa (19-9) in Tuesday’s second round. The Hawkeyes and freshman star Caitlin Clark — who leads the nation in scoring — knocked off No. 12 seed Central Michigan 87-72 earlier Sunday.
Howard did it all against Idaho State. After hitting just one basket in the first quarter, she finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Howard also helped shut down the Bengals’ talented veteran guards. Idaho State’s leading scorer, fifth-year senior Dora Goles, pitched in 14 points but hit just five of 15 shots from the field. She sank a three-pointer at the buzzer to set the final score.
“Defensively, I thought we were intense,” UK Coach Kyra Elzy said in a postgame teleconference. “I thought we were locked in to the game plan and we have talked all week about dominating defensively … We didn’t need to wait, we didn’t need to save it, you had to sell out defensively and I thought our intensity bothered Idaho State.”
Chasity Patterson also had a big game for UK, beginning her final NCAA Tournament run by scoring 14 points to go along with three rebounds.
Another good sign for the Cats moving forward? Junior guard Blair Green reemerged on Sunday. After failing to reach double-digit scoring in her last 11 games, the former Harlan County standout dropped 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting against the Bengals. She and Howard each hit two of four shots from three-point range.
“Just moving and getting in a rhythm, that really helped me,” Green said. “Just the energy that everyone was bringing, that brought energy to me … My teammates found me, and we were just having a lot of fun out there.”
UK held Idaho State to just 13 points combined in the second and third quarters.
“I really thought we turned it up on defense and that really helped everyone get some good looks,” Green said.
After trailing by 10 in the first quarter, Kentucky built a 20-point lead in the fourth before the Bengals used a 10-0 run to pull within 51-41. At that point, Howard returned from a rest on the bench and soon finished a layup through contact then hit the free throw to stretch UK’s advantage to 56-42 with 5:21 to play.
Regular-season and tournament champions of the Big Sky Conference, Idaho State (22-4) met the moment early on. The Bengals used a 16-3 run to build an 18-8 first-quarter lead as UK struggled to find its offense.
Idaho State stymied Howard early on, routinely double- or triple-teaming her. Howard got her first bucket on a fast break generated by an Olivia Owens steal, pulling the Cats within 18-12 heading into the second quarter.
Kentucky made just four field goals and turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter.
The script soon flipped. UK dialed up the defense and held the Bengals to six points in the second quarter, their lowest total in a quarter this season. The Cats took a 21-20 lead on a Jazmine Massengill jumper that completed a 7-0 run. Massengill chipped in four points, six rebounds and five assists.
Dre’una Edwards had nine points and seven boards off the bench. UK’s reserves combined for 31 points.
“Every time we can get everyone involved it’s a lot of fun,” Green said. “Everyone’s hyped up and we’re all feeding off each other’s energy, especially when the bench comes to play.”
During one stretch between the first and second quarters, UK outscored the Bengals 13-2. Howard’s catch-and-shoot three sent the Cats into halftime with a 30-24 advantage.
NCAA Tournament
Next game: No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 5 Iowa
When: Tuesday (Time TBA)
Where: San Antonio
TV: ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
This story was originally published March 21, 2021 at 4:15 PM.
