Wildcats back in action Thursday at top-20 ranked Georgia
POSTGAME NEWS CONFERENCE RECORDINGS
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Rhyne Howard scored 12 points but No. 17 Kentucky lost at No. 2 South Carolina 76-55 on Sunday.
Chasity Patterson had nine points for Kentucky, while Dre’una Edwards and Tatyana Wyatt each had seven. Jazmine Massengill had six points, five assists and three rebounds for the Cats.
The taller Gamecocks outrebounded the Cats 49-30 in the game. Included in that number were 20 offensive rebounds for South Carolina, which led to 18 second chance points. The Gamecocks also scored 16 points off Kentucky turnovers, while the Cats scored just six points off South Carolina miscues.
Both teams came out cold, with South Carolina missing its first six shots and Kentucky missing its first four. The Gamecocks scored first on a pair of Zia Cooke free throws but the Cats tied the game on a slashing layup from Patterson. Kentucky took its first lead, 3-2, on a free throw by Edwards with 6:35 left in the first period.
South Carolina would score the next five points to lead 7-3 before Blair Green hit a free throw line jumper to cut it to 7-5. South Carolina would score the next five before Patterson hit a three from the top of the key to make it 10-8 Gamecocks with 2:49 left in the first. South Carolina would lead 14-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Kentucky (15-6, 8-5 SEC) took the lead back early in the second period on a three by Massengill. However, Howard picked up her second foul and went to the bench shortly thereafter. At that point, South Carolina scored the next 10 points to lead 24-15.
Howard returned and the Cats got consecutive baskets from Robyn Benton and Edwards to cut the deficit to 24-19. But South Carolina again answered, this time with an 8-2 run to take a 32-21 lead.
Near the end of the half, Howard got hot, hitting consecutive threes that were part of a 9-2 run to close the half. South Carolina would lead 34-30 at the break.
The Gamecocks scored the first four points of the third quarter and went on a 9-2 run to lead 43-32. From there, the lead would stay between nine and 11 points until South Carolina scored five in a row to grab a 54-40 lead late in the third quarter.
Kentucky would get a layup from Patterson with 33 seconds left in the period but just before the horn sounded, Cooke hit a three to give South Carolina a 57-42 lead after three periods.
The Cats would score the first four points of the final period on a Tatyana Wyatt jumper and a pair of Howard free throws, cutting the deficit to 57-46. South Carolina answered with a Destanni Henderson three, starting a 9-0 run that put the game away.
Kentucky returns to action on Thursday, visiting Georgia in Athens. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
No. 17 Kentucky 55, South Carolina 76 – FINAL
Team Records and Series Notes
- Kentucky is 15-6 on the season and 8-5 in the SEC, while South Carolina is 18-3, 13-1 in the league.
- This was the 69th all-time meeting between Kentucky and South Carolina in women’s basketball.
- South Carolina leads the all-time series 35-34.
- The Gamecocks have won 13 of the last 14 meetings in the series.
- South Carolina leads the series 20-11 in games played in Columbia.
- Kyra Elzy is in her first season as head coach at Kentucky.
- Elzy is now 15-6 as head coach of Kentucky.
- UK is now 860-554 all-time in its 47th year of varsity women’s basketball.
- Kentucky is ranked No. 17 in the latest AP Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches Top 25.
- The Wildcats will return to action Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. ET vs. Georgia inside Stegemen Coliseum.
- The game will be televised on SEC Network.
Team Notes
- Kentucky used the starting combination of senior guard Chasity Patterson, senior forwards Tatyana Wyatt and KeKe McKinney and junior guards Jazmine Massengill and Rhyne Howard.
- This was the third time this season that UK has used this starting combination, holding a 2-1 record in those games.
- Chasity Patterson scored first for Kentucky in the game – the sixth time this season she has been the first Wildcat to score.
- Dre’una Edwards was the first sub for Kentucky.
- It was the eighth time Edwards has been the first sub for the Wildcats.
- South Carolina won the tip, marking the 15th time this season that UK has lost the opening tip.
- Both teams struggled offensively in the opening quarter with UK shooting 5-of-15 form the field, while South Carolina was 4-of-19.
- South Carolina attempted 11 free throws in the first quarter, going 5-of-11 from the charity stripe.
- There was a combined 31 rebounds in the first quarter with SC leading in that area 19-12.
- The Gamecocks had 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter and turned it into seven second-chance points.
- UK lead 6-4 in points in the paint after the first quarter and had four blocks.
- Kentucky started the second quarter with a 3-pointer by Massengill to take a brief 15-14 lead but South Carolina responded by going on a 8-0 run to force a UK timeout at 7:08.
- The run continued with SC hitting two free throws out of the timeout before a Robyn Benton jumper.
- Ten of the first 11 fouls of the game were called on Kentucky, leaving with the Wildcats with three players with two fouls early in the second quarter.
- The Wildcats ended the first half on a 9-2 run thanks to two 3s by Rhyne Howard and a 3 by Jazmine Massengill at the buzzer. The run cut the Gamecocks lead to 34-30 at the break.
- South Carolina attempted 18 free throws in the first half, while Kentucky attempted two. SC’s 18 free-throw attempts in the first half is more than UK has had in 14 games this season.
- The foul count at halftime was 12 on Kentucky and five on South Carolina.
- The Gamecocks had a 31-19 rebounding edge at halftime, including a 15-3 edge in offensive rebounds.
- SC had 14 second-chance points in the first half, while Kentucky had none.
- SC led 16-8 at halftime in paint points.
- South Carolina outscored UK 25-42 in the second half.
- The Gamecocks ended the game with a 49-30 rebounding edge and a 46-20 edge in points in the paint.
Player Notes
- Junior guard Rhyne Howard led Kentucky with 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks, hitting two 3s.
- Howard has made 198 career 3s, which ranks third most in school history.
- Howard has 1,503 career points as a Wildcat, which ranks her 10th all-time in scoring at UK.
- She needs 60 more points to tie Sara Potts for 9th all-time.
- In 77 career games, Howard has …
- Hit at least one 3 in 68 career games, including 15 games this season.
- Scored 10+ points in 68 career games, including 16 games this season.
- Led UK in scoring in 48 career games, including 10 times this season.
- Led UK in rebounding in 42 games career games, including 11 games this season.
- Junior guard Jazmine Massengill scored six points with a team-best five assists.
