Wildcats and Lady Vols to tip at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 20 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team looks to get back to its winning ways Thursday at 7 p.m. ET as it plays host to No. 16 Tennessee inside Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.
The game vs. Tennessee will be streamed on SEC Network+ with Darren Headrick’s UK Sports Network call overlaid. The action can be seen through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones or tablets. Darren Headrick will also have the call on 630AM WLAP in Lexington. Live stats and free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com.
Kentucky (13-5, 6-4 Southeastern Conference) is coming off a disappointing loss at Ole Miss in its last outing a week ago before having an open date Sunday. The Wildcats are 10-1 at home this season with the lone loss coming to top-five ranked South Carolina inside Memorial Coliseum. This is the second game of the year for Kentucky at Rupp Arena. On Jan. 28, the Wildcats took down Alabama 81-68 inside the historic venue.
Junior guard Rhyne Howard leads the Wildcats this season by averaging 19.7 points per game adding 7.1 rebounds per game. She is second on the team with 56 assists and 27 steals, while leading the team with 34 3-pointers made. Chasity Patterson and Dre’una Edwards are also averaging double figures. Patterson is earning 12.6 points per game and leads UK with 58 assists while she paces the nation with 63 steals. Edwards is averaging 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Tennessee (12-3, 6-1 SEC) is coming off a pause of team activities due to COVID-19 protocols and have not played since defeating Florida 79-65 on Jan. 31. The Lady Vols were entering the toughest part of their league schedule when they had to postpone games vs. top-25 ranked Mississippi State and top-10 ranked Texas A&M. Tennessee will now face Kentucky on Thursday, then travel to Texas A&M on Sunday before hosting South Carolina on Feb. 18. Thursday’s game in Rupp Arena is the first road game for the Lady Vols since Jan. 17 and if the schedule holds, Tennessee will only play back-to-back road games once this season when it travels to Georgia and Missouri in a few weeks.
The Lady Vols have been led this season by Rae Burrell, who is averaging 16.9 points per game and hit a team-best 26 3-pointers. Rennia Davis is averaging 14.5 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game, while Jordan Horston leads the team with 61 assists and 23 steals. Tamari Key has 37 blocks and is averaging 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
As a team, Tennessee is averaging 73.6 points per game and limiting opponents to 59.3 points per game. The Lady Vols have a +14.8 rebounding margin and -1.3 turnover margin. Tennessee is 3-1 at home this season with the only loss coming at West Virginia in overtime.
Thursday is the 71st all-time meeting between Kentucky and Tennessee in women’s basketball with the Lady Vols holding a 56-14 series lead. UT leads the series 22-9 in Lexington. Kentucky had won three straight games in the series for the first time ever before falling earlier this season in Knoxville, 70-53. UK won the last meeting in Lexington, 80-76 on Jan. 5, 2020 in Memorial Coliseum. UK has only won back-to-back home games in the series once all-time when it defeated Tennessee in January 2012 and March 2013 inside Memorial Coliseum. This will be the third all-time meeting in Rupp Arena between the two teams with the series tied 1-1. UK won the first meeting 66-63 on Jan. 26, 2005 but lost the last meeting on Dec. 31, 2017 63-49.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
HEAD COACH KYRA ELZY – WATCH/DOWNLOAD
On how the team has prepared for Thursday’s matchup to be different than the first match vs. Tennessee …
“One thing, we did not have our best showing in Knoxville. We were very disappointed about that. As far as preparation, you go back to work and the things that we did not do the first game – box out consistently, push the ball in transition, attacking the ball screen – those are all things that we have to go back and make an adjustment on.”
On getting Rhyne Howard more looks offensively …
“Rhyne is playing great basketball. We do like to move the ball and obviously we are going to call her name because the offense does revolve around her, but we need other people to step up. When we are at our best and putting 80+ points on the board, we have a balanced scoring attack. We are going to have to have Blair Green and Robyn Benton and Dre and KeKe step up so we have a good balanced attack. I thought at Ole Miss, we really stood and watched Rhyne offensively, which we addressed in practice. We have to have more movement for our offense to be more efficient.”
On if it helped to have the bye over the weekend …
“Absolutely, that always helps. For one, when you have time to rest and reset and come in with a focused mind and rested body. For the team, they are competitors and they like winning. We did not have our best showing in Knoxville, that is always in the back of all of our minds. But the things that we did not do the first time, those are things that we can fix and we have been addressing day-in and day-out in practice. That is offensive rebounding – we have to get a box out – pushing the ball in transition or one-on-one defense. Then we have to attack more off the bounce.”
On being deflated after the Ole Miss loss and how the team has responded …
“Yeah, we will come back with a chip on our shoulder. The thing about the season, you are going to have some highs and going to have some lows. You have to learn and grow from them all. We are competitors and we are ready to work and we will take the floor ready to go on Thursday.”
On the team being stagnant offensively and how do you get them to move more offensively …
“Well, it is not that we watched her all year. Obviously, we have had some games where we have executed well and, like I said, put 80+ points on the board. There are some games where we have become stagnant and there are some variables that come in with those – maybe we aren’t shooting the ball well or we have hit a drought. Maybe when we put the Rhyne’s hands, they are expecting her to make plays. But we have challenged all of them, we need all of you to make plays. No one can stand around and watch. In order for us to be efficient offensively, we have to be balanced and moving the ball. It cannot just get stuck in Rhyne’s hands and everybody watching.”
On if there is added pressure to Rhyne to play Tennessee being from that state …
“Well, I am sure there is. Obviously, the Tennessee girls want to have a great showing but that is not what we focus on. We focus on what we do to be our best. Now, if it helps them to have that chip on their shoulders then by all means bring it to the game, we like it, let’s go. But it is not an area of focus for us.”
On Blair Green …
“Blair has been confident all year and you don’t lose your confidence if you put in the work and she puts in the work. We will get Blair back going. It is my job to call some plays for her and get her involved in the offense early and get her going. Blair continues to put in the work and gets in the gym and she has proved that she can score. So she will bounce back.”
On the NCAA Tournament moving to a bubble format in Texas …
“Hats off to the NCAA. It is an unprecedented time and they continue to find a way to allow us to play and keep everyone safe. So it is a win-win for everyone.”