Rhyne Howard had another National Player of the Year performance, but Kentucky failed to beat another opponent in the top 10.
The women’s basketball team # 10 Wildcats (9-3) jumped over No. 5 South Carolina (8-1) in the jump, but lost its strength in the second half before falling to a final score of 75-70 inside the Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky were defeated by 43-29 in the final 20 minutes, after a 41-32 lead at halftime.
Kentucky scored two classified victories on that stretch, one at home and one on the road, and played a beautiful game against the other two.
We’ll be back, it’s not over yet. https://t.co/LqKBdTJb7Z pic.twitter.com/n0hyaSxrqp
– Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) January 11, 2021
Rhyne Howard followed the pace of ‘Cats with 32 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one block and two steals by shooting 13-25 from the floor and hitting all six attempts at free throws. However, she missed all five of her 3-point land looks. Dre’Una Edwards recovered from a difficult start for the SEC, ending with 12 points and seven rebounds while Chasity Patterson She added 12 points herself, plus four rebounds and two steals.
As a team, Kentucky hit 28-74 (37.8 percent) on the field, a number that was destroyed by poor shooting performance in the second half. The ‘Cats’ were kept at 30.6 percent from the ground over the final 20 minutes and saw them drop to just 22.7 percent in the fourth quarter.
Sunday’s game marked the fourth in a row against one of Kentucky’s top 12 opponents, who came out with a 2-2 record after beating No. 10 Arkansas and No. 12 Mississippi State before dropping to No. 8 Texas A&M and Gamecocks open the SEC’s schedule. It was easily the most difficult period of games the UK will face throughout the season, as they are not scheduled to play against another qualifying team until they face South Carolina again in late February.
The road ahead is still brilliant, but Sunday’s defeat was difficult to swallow.
Kentucky was in a serious groove at both ends of the court to start the game, attacking South Carolina’s defense with ferocity, especially Howard. The junior guard was heading straight for Gamecocks star Aliyah Boston, pulling an early foul on her and reaching the free-throw line with physicality.
Both sides went back and forth in the opening minutes, moved by transition baskets and excellent team defense. South Carolina got a quick 8-5 lead out of the gate, but Boston suffered his second foul at 4:56 from the end of the first quarter and was immediately sent to the bench for the rest of the time.
At that point, Howard decided to take over. She scored six points as Boston took over the bank to end the period and was aided by excellent individual defense of Robyn Benton. Edwards was settling down in painting and Jazmine Massengill it was forcing turnovers on the other end. Still, South Carolina converted to an e-1 just before the first quarter bell, reducing Kentucky’s lead to 19-15 in the first quarter.
With Boston still on the bench to start the second period, Kentucky continued to attack the painting. Blair Green opened the scoring for the Wildcats with the team’s first 3-point basket before Howard returned to the ring, working wonderfully on pick-and-roll with Olivia Owens, who got the start in favor of the fighter Edwards.
Kentucky jumped ahead with a 24-18 lead after a jump from Howard, but reserve player Laeticia Amihere started hitting the Wildcats on the glass. Amihere organized six consecutive points for South Carolina, reducing the UK lead to 28-24.
Offensive rebounds kept Gamecocks close, but without the 6-foot-5 Boston low, Kentucky continued to get all the kicking opportunities it wanted. After the first 3-point basket in the afternoon for Carolina, who left the team losing just 33-31, the ‘Cats ran a 9-1 run to end the first half. Kentucky maintained the 41-32 lead in the first half, with 19 points from Howard.
The offensive for South Carolina was stuttering, although they were winning the battle on the glass at the interval, 19-17. Gamecocks had 12 turnovers against seven from Kentucky in the first 20 minutes, too.
But to start the third quarter, Kentucky did not come out with the same energy it had in the first two and struggled to regain momentum. South Carolina quickly put pressure on the UK, reducing the lead to just 43-40, with a 7h20 left to the end of the period. The ‘Cats were able to respond to every Gamecock score during the first few minutes, but eventually suffocated under the overwhelming size of Carolina’s frontline.
The advantage increased to eight on several occasions in the third quarter for Kentucky, but everything fell apart with two minutes to go in the fourth quarter. South Carolina fired a 9-0 streak to end the period with a point advantage in the finals, the first of the game since the 5:05 mark in the first quarter.
Boston was back, playing every 10 minutes of the third quarter, while losing 10 points and six bags. Henderson and Zia Cooke combined for another 11, and suddenly Kentucky had no answer for any of those three.
Howard would open the fourth period with a backward jump – one of several she got right that afternoon – giving the lead back to Kentucky, but they never found a way to recover. From there, South Carolina exerted its will on ‘Cats, with Boston adding six more points and five rebounds, while Henderson contributed eight more points and four rebounds in the last 10 minutes of action.
Carolina’s lead skyrocketed to five points, then seven and nine in the blink of an eye. With only 4:29 left in the regulations, the ‘Cats were losing 69-60 and suffering on points. That was until Patterson brought Kentucky back in a matter of seconds.
A second chance layup was followed by two of Patterson’s biggest triples of the night, which took Kentucky back to a point, 69-68 and 2:31 left in the ball game. The United Kingdom forced South Carolina to fail on the other end of the line and Howard had an open view for a 3-point basket that would give the Cats a two-point advantage. However, the shot did not fall and the USC responded with a large tray from Lele Grissett that put them ahead by three to 1:54 left.
Howard came back down with a couple of free throws that made the point one more time, now with just 90 seconds left. But an undisputed second-chance streak from Boston created another three-point cushion for South Carolina, 73-70, and Kentucky didn’t look good for its final shot. A pair of free throws with less than 10 seconds left the USC victory, which remained perfect 3-0 in the SEC game with a 75-70 victory.
As a team, South Carolina was 46.9 off the pitch, despite only kicking 2-4 from beyond the hoop for the game. Boston and Henderson scored at least 20 points, while Amihere contributed 10 points by replacing Boston while dealing with foul problems early on. The Gamecocks dominated Kentucky in painting, winning the battle 56-34 and overtaking them 46-31.
Benton finished with five points, two rebounds and five steals in 22 minutes off the bench, while Owens added two points and two rebounds in his first career in the UK. KeKe McKinney was kept goalless (0-6), but recorded four rebounds and two blocks when dealing with minor foul problems in the second half.
For the next…
Kentucky will play next Thursday against the Auburn Tigers in Alabama at 8:30 pm EST on the SEC Network.