LEXINGTON, Ky. – A turbulent week for the University of Kentucky’s No. 17 women’s basketball team, which has seen several delays and travel problems due to the inclement weather in the southeastern region of the country, will hopefully find normality on Sunday as Wildcats travel to face No. 2 from South Carolina for a tip at 3 pm ET inside the Colonial Life Arena.
The game against South Carolina will be broadcast on ESPN with Ryan Ruocco and Rebecca Lobo on the conference call. The action can be checked by WatchESPN on computers, smartphones or tablets. Darren Headrick will make the call on the UK Sports Network at 630AM WLAP in Lexington. Live statistics and free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com.
Kentucky (15-5, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) started the weekend with a strong victory on Monday in Florida, scoring 88 points and hitting 53.7 percent on the field. The Wildcats then had to stay an extra night in Gainesville due to the weather, before having their Thursday LSU game postponed to Friday before being postponed again on Thursday afternoon. The postponement caused Kentucky to focus directly on the highly ranked Gamecocks as it entered the weekend.
In its last performance in Florida, Kentucky presented one of its best offensive performances of the year. The United Kingdom scored 88 points in the game, which was the second highest number of points scored in a SEC game this season, second only to the 92 points that the United Kingdom scored in its two-time thriller in the state of Mississippi. The Wildcats pitched 53.7 percent of the field in the game, which was their best shooting performance in an SEC game since January 25, 2018 against Alabama. It was also the UK’s best shooting performance in an SEC street game since January 31, 2016 in Florida. The Wildcats had a 40-32 lead in paint points, which was the highest number of paint points the UK scored in an SEC game this season. Kentucky is 6-0 this season, when it reaches more than 50 percent.
Rhyne Howard led the way to Kentucky, scoring 31 points with four 3s made, nine rebounds and two steals. The performance makes Howard the fourth player in the school’s history to have had at least six games of 30 points in his career and the first player in the history of the school to have three games of 30 points in his career against opponents of the SEC. Howard now has 1,493 career points, making him 11th in the UK at all times, needing just nine more to reach the top 10 of all time in scoring. The Cleveland native, Tennessee, is the only SEC player this season to lead her team in scoring, rebounds and assists, averaging 19.7 points per game with 7.2 rebounds per game and 64 assists. She also reached the team’s best score of 38 out of 3 points and is second in the team with 67 steals.
Senior Guard Chasity Patterson has an average of 13.1 points per game and is leading the team and the country with 67 steals. Patterson also has 59 assists and 28 3s. Sophomore forward Dre’una Edwards has an average of 10.6 points per game with 6.8 rebounds per game and 21 blocks with the best team.
South Carolina (17-3, 12-1 SEC) is coming out of its first league loss of the season on Thursday in Tennessee’s Top 25. The Gamecocks led 37-25 at the break, but Lady Vols scored 50 points in the second half to return and win the 75-67 victory. Second-year pivot Aliyah Boston scored 17 points with 16 rebounds, adding a block to the game. Guards Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson each scored 15 points and three rebounds, with Henderson adding six assists.
As a team, South Carolina averages 79.3 points per game, while limiting teams to 60.1 points per game. Gamecocks have an average of 44.9 percent of the field and 33.0 percent of 3. South Carolina has a rebound margin of +16.1 and averages 7.3 blocks per game.
Sunday will be the 69th all-time meeting between Kentucky and South Carolina in women’s basketball. Gamecocks have won 12 of the last 13 games in the series. The United Kingdom lost three consecutive games to the Gamecocks. The Wildcats’ last win against SC was a 65-57 win in Columbia on February 21, 2019. Gamecocks lead the 19-11 series in games played in Columbia.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS IN THE UK
FEMALE BASKETBALL PRE-CONFERENCE ON SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2021
JOE CRAFT CENTER – LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
Kentucky Head Coach Kyra Elzy
On Rhyne Howard being considered SEC Player of the Year …
“Well, I’m a little busy during the games trying to train the team, that’s correct. However, my posture has not changed: Rhyne Howard is the best player and she has shown it again and again. It’s not just about scoring – she can put the ball in the basket – but she can play all five positions offensively and can defend all five positions. It can affect the game with your passing ability, your rebound and your defense. This is what makes it special. My attitude is the same: she is the best. “
About the climate changing the schedule …
“It comes down to being able to adjust in real time. This year is like no other and this is where resilience and mental toughness really play a factor. We just have to focus on the things we can control. Yes, we get stuck in Florida and start preparing for LSU. So, the game will be moved to Friday, so the game is postponed. So, our players went into practice yesterday thinking we were preparing for LSU. So I had to inform them: “No, this game has been postponed and we are now preparing for South Carolina.” They handled it well all year round. We are not the only team that has to deal with adjustments. It is only part of the course now.”
About what Tennessee did to beat South Carolina on Thursday …
“Yes, I had the opportunity to watch the game and it was a great game for women’s basketball. South Carolina is a top team for a reason. They are very talented. We are just entering the game with a focus on things we have to play well and make adjustments from the first game. We are a different team than when we first played them and we just have to stick to our game plan. “
At the first meeting and how the team will adjust …
“Yes, we did a lot of good things the first time against South Carolina, but the end result was not in our favor. You have to grow with each game. One of the things we did not do well was defending the transition. We left your guards go down and score some easy layups, which really cost us. And we lost some huge box outs when we had a chance in that game. This should be an area of focus for us, but not just for South Carolina, but for all games of this conference. I told the players yesterday. The same motto – we will have to make the transition, make the transition to defense and boxing and find a way to protect the painting. That will be vital against South Carolina. “
In which areas Rhyne is playing best this season …
“At the moment, she is attracting the best defender of all and drawing a lot of attention defensively. They are entering her body. The best thing about her is that she can read the defense. So when they are jumping on her, she knows how do the extra pass and I think she grew up from a year ago is that she really trusts her teammates to step up and make the game. We have a lot more people on the pitch that can score. The most important thing for Rhyne is the pace she knows how to get off the screens and change the pace with which she can open up. A year ago, they arrested her and she panicked and she didn’t handle it well. Now, when they arrest her, she knows how out of the trap. The biggest leap she took was defensively, she’s not resting on the defensive end. “
About the UK being in the top 16 of the NCAA revealed …
“The revelation came out and we were happy to be in the top 16. We are one of the best programs in the country. However, our approach has not changed. We cannot control where they send us or put us at the point of sowing. However, our goals remain the same and we have to work that way. We entered this season with goals that we were trying to achieve and we only have to do one percent each day to improve and reach our goals. We want our players that we cannot control everything, but there are some things that we can control and work hard and put ourselves in a position to achieve our goals, we can do that. “
About how she feels about taking on the program so far …
“I would just credit that to the people around me. I’m surrounded by an incredible technical team with Coach Butts and Coach Smith and Daniel Boice really stood out and played an important role in the success of this team. Our players are invested and want to win. They are competitors. If you are going to sacrifice so much of your family’s time and live in a bubble and difficult practices, they want to win. They are committed to this. We love this program and they love this program and we all want to achieve a high level of success. “
In the new defense court …
“The backcourt is great for me. Jazmine makes us different. She’s an athletic size guard, but her basketball IQ is extremely high. She knows how to create kicks for people the way they like to score. That really released Chasity Patterson at point two to not worry about anything but putting the ball in the basket. She has an incredible ability to do that and just frees her mind. I think she got a little bogged down with us throwing her in the position of playmaker for 40 minutes, but that was a change for her for the better. “
On Blair Green’s New role …
“Blair and I met, and what happens with this team is that we have had the greatest talent possible in Kentucky for a long time. And we talked about it, everyone can’t start. Everyone can’t go to the press conference. Everyone “The world can’t make headlines. We have to accept our roles to achieve team success. That’s what I love about Blair. I talked to the team about winning a spot – she did it. In addition to being trainable and playing hard, I would take 1,000 of them. To get where we want to, this was one of the most difficult decisions I had to make. That said, Blair and I met and I need Blair. Even though she’s getting off the bench, I need her to book. play minutes and she makes us better. When we were more efficient and effective offensively, it was because Blair was scoring. When she needed her. Her role hasn’t changed in that respect. ch now. “