Kentucky’s season, Howard’s college career ends with first-round loss to Princeton
The Kentucky women’s basketball season has come to an end.
The Wildcats lost for the first time since Feb. 10 on Saturday, crashing out of the NCAA Tournament at the first hurdle.
UK lost its NCAA Tournament first-round game to Princeton, 69-62, inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.
The sixth-seeded Wildcats were upset by the 11th-seeded Tigers, but the game was far more of a toss-up than seed lines indicated.
The champions of the Ivy League, Princeton boasted one of the best scoring defenses in the nation and often caused UK’s half-court offense fits.
Still, it was just the second NCAA Tournament victory for Princeton.
Rhyne Howard and Dre’una Edwards both spent time in the UK locker room during the first half, and Kentucky never led in the final three quarters of the game.
Howard said postgame that both players took “some pretty hard hits” and needed to collect themselves.
The result ends a roller-coaster season for the Wildcats in Kyra Elzy’s second year as head coach. It featured suspensions, a stunning 10-game winning streak, a Southeastern Conference Tournament title and then a first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament.
Princeton 69, Kentucky 62
The star: Jada Walker kept Kentucky in the game despite a sluggish showing for the half-court offense. Walker set a new career high with six steals, five of which came in the first half. She also had 11 points and three assists as the freshman guard played well in Bloomington for the second time this season.
Princeton’s Abby Meyers, the Ivy League Player of the Year, was sensational and had a career-best 29 points.
The stats: Joining Walker in double figures in scoring were Dre’una Edwards (16) and Rhyne Howard (17), playing her final college game.
The status: Princeton is 25-4 and has won 18 straight games. Kentucky’s season ends at 19-12 overall. The Cats had won 10 in a row.
Three takeaways
1. PRINCETON’S ELITE DEFENSE STIFLES WILDCATS.
Princeton’s defense is one of the best in the country.
Entering the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers allowed less than 51 points per game and held opponents to a 34.9% shooting percentage.
That elite defense — which is based around a switching philosophy — showed itself early against Kentucky.
The Wildcats were reliant early in the game on creating points from steals, with UK’s defense acting as a direct driver of the offense.
It took Kentucky eight minutes into Saturday’s game before it scored a non-fast-break basket.
That strong half-court defense from Princeton continued into the second half and led to plenty of empty possessions from the Wildcats, especially as UK trailed by four to six points.
UK finished the game shooting 20-56 (35.7%) from the field.
“We got very good looks and were able to do what we wanted to do,” Rhyne Howard said. “It just didn’t go in the basket.”
Princeton senior guard Abby Meyers credited junior guard Julia Cunningham, whose defensive assignment for the night was to guard Howard, with helping hold Howard to below her season scoring average.
“We knew coming in that she was going to make a shots, or make a lot of shots, and then we just had to figure out how to deal with that and just bring it back on the offensive end and try to get another stop on defense,” Meyers said.
“It’s Ivy League defense, it’s Ivy League play,” Meyers continued. “I don’t think a lot of people, they just underestimate how good the Ivy League is at both ends. So we wanted to come in and just shock them, and I think we did that.”
By contrast, the Tigers shot 26-53 (49.1%) from the field, highlighted by a 29-point scoring performance by Meyers.
“I think we always pride ourselves on being really patient and just having our composure on the offensive end,” Meyers said. “I’m happy to have somewhat of a green light to be able to do what I want.”
“It’s hard to give her any red light, sometimes it goes yellow. But she certainly came up with big shots, big plays and big free throws,” Princeton head coach Carla Berube said of Meyers.
2. JADA WALKER HAS ANOTHER CAREER NIGHT IN BLOOMINGTON.
The first breakout moment of Jada Walker’s freshman season came in Bloomington.
It was a 21-point loss suffered by UK in November, just the third game of the season for UK and the third game of Walker’s college career.
But she impressed against a top Indiana team, scoring 16 points and recording two steals while displaying her trademark grit on both ends of the court.
Kentucky desperately needed an impact from a role player on Saturday, and Walker stepped up to the occasion.
The SEC All-Freshman Team selection carried UK in the opening half with this stat line through 20 minutes: 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and five steals.
Kentucky’s half-court offense was bogged down to start the game, and Walker’s tenacity on defense led to eight badly needed fast-break points.
Berube said Walker was an “incredible defender” and the pressure she put on Princeton’s ball handlers wasn’t something the Tigers see every day.
“I think it took us just a couple of moments to get our feet under us and take a couple deep breaths and just work together,” Berube said.
Walker finished the game with 11 points, two rebounds, three assists, three turnovers and a career-best six steals.
In the latest individual high point for Kentucky’s point guard of the future, at a place where it all started just five months ago.
“Jada Walker is tough as nails,” Elzy said. “She’s a fearless freshman. What she has brought to our team this year is everything we needed: A winning mentality, a toughness, someone that loved defense and the sky is truly the limit for her.”
3. RHYNE HOWARD’S CAREER ENDS.
It’s a blunt statement, but it’s one that is now reality.
Howard has played her last game as a Kentucky Wildcat.
A college basketball career filled with accolades and awards, with highlight-reel performances and WNBA potential, came to an end.
Howard’s final stat line as a Kentucky Wildcat was: 17 points, eight rebounds and one assist.
“She’s a once-in-a-lifetime type of player. She’s gifted. … She is the best in the country for a reason,” Elzy said of Howard. “What I’m going to miss is the person. She’s very humble, kind-hearted. I’m going to miss her coming to the office and laying on the couch and trying to see what we’re going to do for practice, but she is a great person and that matters to us in our program.”
Howard missed a portion of the first half due to an apparent injury, but she would return to the game.
One of the greatest basketball players Kentucky has ever seen will never wear the blue and white again.
Howard never reached the Sweet 16 at Kentucky, twice losing in the round of 32 and now once in the opening round.
The 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But, Howard does leave Kentucky with a significant piece of hardware after winning the SEC Tournament title in Nashville earlier this month.
“I think she put her stamp on her legacy,” Elzy said. “That was the reason she came to Kentucky. That is the standard and expectation. We want to play for championships and for her to be able to win it, so proud of her and all the accolades.”
Next up for Howard is the WNBA Draft, which is set to take place April 11 in New York City.
What does Elzy have to say about Howard to prospective teams in the WNBA Draft lottery?
“Whoever is smart enough to draft her, they are going to have a talent and she is going to make people better,” Elzy said. “She’s competitive. Her basketball IQ is unbelievable. But it’s her versatility at the next level. … I think in time she will be the face of the WNBA.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 6:30 PM.
