Choosing the UK women’s hoops All-Quarter Century Team, the top Cats since 2000
The Kentucky women’s basketball program has won 23 NCAA Tournament games all-time. Twenty of those March Madness victories have come since 2000.
Of the 10 all-time leading scorers in UK women’s hoops history, seven have played since the dawn of the 21st century.
Given that, attempting to select an All-Quarter Century Team (2000 through 2025) for UK women’s hoops is a daunting task.
As with the UK men’s basketball All-Quarter Century Team I revealed last week, the criteria I used in evaluating players are as follows:
1.) How great was a player’s influence on the UK program?
2.) How much Kentucky team success did players contribute to?
3.) While at UK, did players achieve things that were unique and/or special?
My All-Quarter Century Team for Kentucky women’s basketball’s opening quarter of the 2000s consists of a first and second team, chosen with positional integrity, and also includes sixth women selected from among players who played an off-the-bench role while at UK.
First Team
Wing: Rhyne Howard (2018-2022) — Among 21st Century UK women’s basketball players, Howard is the leading career scorer (2,290 points), fourth-leading rebounder (789) and is fourth in blocked shots (109), fourth in steals (262) and second in 3-point field-goal percentage (38.2).
In her Kentucky career, the 6-foot-2 product of Cleveland, Tennessee, was a three-time AP First Team All-American; a two-time SEC Player of the Year; and was the SEC Tournament MVP when the Wildcats made a stirring run to win the conference tourney in 2022.
Power forward: Victoria Dunlap (2007-2011) — As a junior in 2009-10, Dunlap became the cornerstone player that helped Matthew Mitchell transform Kentucky from an SEC also-ran to a consistent top-15 program in the nation.
A 6-1 product of Nashville, Dunlap is third among 21st century UK players in scoring (1,846 points), first in rebounding (1,099), second in blocks (178) and second in steals (307). She was twice SEC Player of the Year and was twice named an AP Third Team All-American.
Center: Evelyn Akhator (2015-2017) — The 6-3 native of Lagos, Nigeria, came to Kentucky as a junior college transfer in 2015. Over her two seasons patrolling the paint for UK, Akhator averaged a double-double (13.7 points and 10 rebounds) and converted her field-goal attempts at a higher rate (54.1 percent) than any other Kentucky player this century.
In the 2017 WNBA draft, Akhator was the third overall pick to the Dallas Wings. Until Rhyne Howard went No. 1 in 2022 to the Atlanta Dream, that was the highest a Kentucky player had ever been chosen in the WNBA draft.
Guard: A’dia Mathies (2009-2013) — Of the 23 NCAA Tournament wins Kentucky has all-time, Mathies played in 10 of them and was a leading presence on UK’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight teams in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
Among 21st century Kentucky players, the 5-9 Mathies is second in career points (2,014) and first in steals (320). A product of Iroquois High School in Louisville, Mathies was an AP Second Team All-American in 2013 and a Third Team choice in 2012. Mathies was also a two-time SEC Player of the Year (2011-12 and 2012-13) and the 2009-10 SEC Freshman of the Year.
Guard: Makayla Epps (2013-2017) — The former Marion County star was a three-time All-SEC First Team selection by the league’s coaches.
Epps is fourth among 21st century Kentucky players in scoring (1,790 career points) and third in assists (408). Over her four year Kentucky career, Epps played on two Wildcats teams (2013-14 and 2015-16) that reached the NCAA Tournament round of 16.
Sixth woman: Jennifer O’Neill (2010-2015) — The 5-6 guard was voted SEC Sixth Woman of the Year in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. In UK’s epic 133-130 win in four overtimes over Baylor in 2013-14, O’Neill poured in a school record 43 points, a mark that has since been tied (by Rhyne Howard and Georgia Amoore) but not broken.
O’Neill stands 10th in career scoring (1,449 points) among Kentucky players that have played in the 2000s.
Second Team
Wing: Maci Morris (2015-2019) — One of the best shooters ever to play for Kentucky, the 6-foot Morris has the highest percentage of made 3-point shots (41.1) and the second highest percentage of made foul shots (85.6) of any Kentucky player in the 21st century.
A former Bell County High School star, Morris scored 1,692 career points for UK, the fifth best mark among Wildcats players in the 2000s.
Power forward: Dre’una Edwards (2020-2022) — The 6-2 Edwards hit the biggest shot in Kentucky women’s basketball history when she buried a trey from the top of the key with four seconds left that gave the Wildcats a shocking 64-62 upset of No. 1 — and eventual NCAA champion — South Carolina in the finals of the 2022 SEC Tournament.
Edwards’ heroics capped a stellar performance vs. Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks, a 27-points, nine-rebounds tour de force. For that 2021-22 season, Edwards averaged 16.8 points and 8.4 rebounds.
Following that year, Edwards transferred from Kentucky to Baylor.
Center: Sarah Elliott (2004-2008): The 6-6 Elliott is the eighth-leading scorer (1,502 points), the third-leading rebounder (800), the leader in blocked shots (195) and the second-most accurate shooter (53.8 percent) among Kentucky players who have played in the 21st century.
A former Jackson County High School star, Elliott averaged 11.2 points and 5.9 rebounds as a sophomore for UK”s 2005-06 NCAA Tournament team, the first UK squad of the 2000s to advance to the Big Dance.
Guard: Taylor Murray (2015-2019) — The dynamic guard from Odenton, Maryland, is 12th among Kentucky players of the 2000s in scoring (1,359 points), first in assists (450) and third in steals (287).
Of players who have competed for UK in this century, Murray is the third-most accurate foul shooter (83.3 percent).
Guard: Georgia Amoore (2024-25) — In what was the super-senior transfer variety of a one-and-done season, Amoore produced the best individual year ever by a Kentucky point guard. The 5-6 Australian averaged 19.6 points, 6.9 assists and one steal a game. Her 213 assists broke the UK single-season record (209) which Patty Jo Hedges had held since 1981-82.
Coming with head coach Kenny Brooks from Virginia Tech, Amoore helped a Kentucky program that had gone a combined 24-39 in the previous two seasons to a 23-8 mark and UK’s first berth in the NCAA Tournament in three years. Amoore was named AP Second Team All-American and SEC Newcomer of the Year.
Sixth woman: Keyla Snowden (2009-2012) — After transferring to UK from Akron, Snowden was voted the SEC Sixth Woman of the Year in 2011-12. A Lexington Catholic product, the 5-7 Snowden carved a niche at Kentucky as a big-shot maker. In the 2012 NCAA Tournament, No. 2 seed UK had blown a 17-point lead and was down 62-61 to Green Bay in the final minute when Snowden buried what became the game-winning jumper with 16 seconds left.
For her UK career, Snowden made 36.9 percent of her 3-point attempts, the fourth-most accurate percentage by a Wildcats player in this century.
Coming next week: The Kentucky football All-Quarter Century Team.
This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 7:15 AM.
