LEXINGTON, Ky. – The postseason is here. The University of Kentucky’s No. 17 women’s basketball team will begin what will hopefully be a memorable postseason on Thursday when they will face Auburn or Florida in the second round of the Southeast Conference 2021 Women’s Basketball Tournament. event is taking place at a limited capacity Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
The second round game will be broadcast on the SEC Network with Eric Frede and Tamika Catchings on the conference call. The action can be checked through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones or tablets. Darren Headrick will call the UK Sports Network at 630AM WLAP in Lexington. Live statistics and free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com. Auburn and Florida face off in the first round on Wednesday at 4 pm ET with the winner advancing to play the Wildcats.
The United Kingdom won fifth place in the tournament after finishing the league game 9-6. This is the second time, since 1992, that the United Kingdom is the five seeds in the event. The Wildcats were also the five seed in 2016, defeating the 13th LSU seed in the second round, and the fourth Florida seeded in the quarterfinals, before dropping to the top of South Carolina in the semifinals. The UK has 3-0 of all time in the second round games and was played for the last time in the second round of the event in 2019, defeating Alabama as the ninth champion. Kentucky holds a record of 36-41 (0.467) in the SEC tournament. Last season, the United Kingdom was the third seed and defeated Tennessee in the quarterfinals before falling to the State of Mississippi in the semifinals.
Kentucky (16-7, 9-6 SEC) was led this season by twice SEC Player of the Year Rhyne Howard, who is the only player of the power five conference in the country with an average of more than 19 points per game, with 7.5 rebounds per game and more than 40 steals and 70 steals. In the year, the point guard is earning 19.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and leads the UK with 44 points from 3 feats. Two other Wildcats are averaging double-digit scores in the elderly Chasity Patterson, who is earning 13.2 points per game with 70 steals, the best of the team. Patterson was named to the All-Defensive SEC Team earlier this week and is a Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist. Sophomore forward Dre’una Edwards is the final Wildcats in double digits with 10.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
As a team, the Wildcats are posting 73.4 points per game, hitting 43.3% on the field and 34.6% on 3. The UK averages 7.3 3 points per game, 14.1 assists per game and 9.1 steals per game. Although the United Kingdom has a -1.0 recovery margin, Wildcats have a +3.9 turning margin and a +8.0 scoring margin.
Auburn leads the all-time series against Kentucky, 26-25, including a 5-3 mark in neutral games. Kentucky is 2-5 against Auburn in the SEC tournament. The two teams faced off earlier this season at the Auburn Arena, with the UK gaining a 76-71 victory. Kentucky leads the all-time series against Florida, 33-26, including a 5-3 mark in games on neutral sites. The Wildcats are 6-2 of all time against Florida in the SEC tournament. The two teams met earlier this season at the ExacTech Arena, with the UK gaining an 88-80 victory.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB at Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.