Chasity Patterson led Kentucky with 21 points
LEXINGTON, Kentucky – Chasity Patterson scored 21 points as the 20th-ranked Kentucky women’s basketball team topped No. 16 Tennessee 71-56 on Thursday night at Rupp Arena.
Patterson hit nine of her 16 shots, including three of five from three-point range, on her way to her third game this season with at least 20 points.
Jazmine Massengill, playing against her former team, scored a season-high 11 points for the Cats, including three baskets from behind the arc.
Rhyne Howard had a quiet scoring night with only eight points, but she had seven rebounds, seven steals and six assists for Kentucky.
Kentucky (14-5, 7-4 SEC) hit 28 of 67 (41.8 percent) from the floor, but included in that number was a 10 of 20 effort from behind the arc. Kentucky forced 16 Tennessee turnovers and turned those into 24 points. The Cats also had 18 fast break points, compared to just two for the Lady Vols.
Tennessee (12-4, 6-2) scored first on a Rae Burrell layup, but the Cats tied it at 2-2 on a Patterson driving basket. After UT went up 4-2, Patterson rattled in a three to give UK its first lead, 5-4.
After Tennessee took a 6-5 lead, Kentucky got a corner three from Blair Green to grab an 8-6 advantage. UK would extend the lead to 10-6 on a baseline jumper from Olivia Owens with 3:09 left in the first.
UT would get another basket from Burrell to make it 10-8 before the Cats got a free throw from Dre’una Edwards and a breakaway layup from Robyn Benton to lead 13-8. Tennessee would score the last three points of the period but UK would lead 13-11 after the first 10 minutes.
Kentucky opened the second period on a 7-2 run, comprised of a pair of Patterson layups and a three from Benton, to lead 20-13. Tennessee would score the next five to cut the UK lead to two before Tatyana Wyatt connected on a right-side three to extend the lead to 23-18 with 7:25 left in the half.
Tennessee would get a basket from Tamari Key to cut it to 23-20 but Kentucky would score the next 12 points to grab a 35-20 advantage with 2:24 left in the half. The Lady Vols would score six in a row to cut the UK lead to 35-26, but Kentucky got a basket from Patterson with 44 seconds left in the half to take a 37-26 lead into the break. Patterson led all scorers with 13 points in the first half.
In the third quarter, the Lady Vols hit five of their first eight shots, while Kentucky made just one of its first nine. That led to a 20-2 UT run that gave the Lady Vols a 45-39 lead with 3:54 left in the third period.
Kentucky would respond. The Cats got a three from Massengill and a Wyatt layup to cut the UT lead to 45-44 with 2:02 left in the third period. UT would get a basket from Burrell but the Cats closed the scoring in the period with a Massengill jumper that cut the UT lead to 47-46 with 10 minutes remaining.
In the fourth quarter, the Cats grabbed the lead back on a jumper from Wyatt, then extended the lead on a Rhyne Howard runner and a three from Keke McKinney to lead 53-47 and force a Tennessee timeout.
Tennessee would score consecutive baskets to cut the UK lead to 53-51 before Howard connected on a corner jumper to make it 55-51. After UT’s Burrell cut it to 55-53, Kentucky got a jumper from Patterson and a three from Massengill to lead 60-53 with 4:05 to play.
After a Tennessee free throw, Kentucky got a layup from Edwards and a three from Patterson to lead 65-54 with 2:42 left in the game. Those two baskets were part of an 11-2 run that UK used to finish off the 15-point victory.
In the first meeting between the teams earlier this season, Kentucky lost to Tennessee 70-53 in Knoxville on Jan. 24.
Kentucky returns to action on Monday, visiting Florida in Gainesville. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
Kentucky Head Coach Kyra Elzy
On the momentum shifts in the game and Jazmine Massengill’s part in that …
“You know, so proud of Jazmine. One of the things that she and I talked about yesterday is that she had to be a threat offensively. She had to see herself as a scorer. Even though she’s a facilitator, she’s an unbelievable passer, she pushes the tempo but she had to see herself scoring. And I thought she stepped up and nailed some of the shots she has been practicing so super proud of her. And as far as how we finished the game, Tennessee made an unbelievable run. We talked in the huddle, do not panic. Let’s don’t settle for quick outside shots, let’s move the basketball, either get a layup or wide open shots and we hit them.”
On what was different than the first game against Tennessee …
“I would just say mentality. We came into the game, our bigs were very disappointed, along with the whole team, but they really took it personal. They were reminded very often about the 42 paint points (in the first game) and their bigs having their way pretty much every day after that. But I thought they stepped up to the challenge. They came, they were intense, they were intentional on the double and the committed to getting a box out when the shot went up.”
On starting Massengill and the impact she made in the game …
“Yeah, I made a decision to start Jazmine. We have several players on this team that could start. So that’s one of the things that we talk about, it’s bigger than any one and I have to make decisions for the whole. And, decided to start Jaz to get us settled in offensively. She understand what I’m looking for but also, a big key to that is trying to get Chasity (Patterson) to play more free. One things that she can undeniably do is put the ball in the basket. But when the ball is in her hands for 40 minutes and she’s having to think, it slows her from scoring. And tonight, with Jazmine on the floor, it freed her up and Chasity put 21 points on the board.”
On Rhyne Howard …
“You know, I think the shots didn’t fall. I thought she had some great looks that she can normally hit. Now, she did take some off balance shots which we talked to her about at halftime. But the thing about basketball, some nights the shots will go, some nights they won’t. But why I was proud of her is that she continued to play hard, she continued to engage her teammates, she went and got rebounds, she made some unbelievable passes and got some key steals when we needed, so she impacted the game. She’s a scorer, she will find her rhythm. We’ll go back and put some extra shots up. She can do that.”
On the team keeping its cool when Tennessee made a run …
“Well, when Tennessee made a run, we knew that was going to happen. The game is a game of runs. So we had to answer the run. But I didn’t want us to panic offensively, which we have done plenty before, we start quick shooting the ball, you want to make something happen. So, we just talked about in the huddle, unless you have a wide open layup, let’s make four or five passes and we take rhythm shots. Still make the defense work. The shots that we were taking were good shots and they would go in, we just couldn’t panic. But I thought we answered the run, remained composed, which is a step forward in our offense.”
On what Rhyne Howard learned from the first game against Tennessee …
“That she learned from the experience. In Knoxville, when her shot wasn’t going in, I challenged her about continuing to step up, be a good teammate, stay engaged in the huddle, lift someone else up and go do other things when your shot’s not falling. So she learned from that and she stepped up tonight, as you can see on the stat sheet.”
On the players accepting the challenge of facing Tennessee again …
“You know, all credit to the players. They stepped up to the challenge. Very disappointing day in Knoxville and they wanted to come back and prove themselves. But, night in and night out, this league is just so tough. But what I was super proud of was the intensity with which we played. I thought we played team basketball on both sides. But I like the energy and I like our focus so that makes me proud as a coach.”
On going to a zone defense …
“You know, that’s one thing that the staff and I talked about. We kind of laughed. We are all defensive coaches and we’re all accustomed to playing pressure man. So, having to change up to a zone is, sometimes, out of my comfort zone. But knowing that we needed to do that to break momentum. But the players played aggressive out of it. But our ability to rebound tonight was huge.”
On Tennessee missing Rennia Davis and how difficult the SEC schedule is …
“This conference is the best conference in the country because of it, top to bottom, in this league it is going to be a battle. And you’re going to have to grind it out and earn every victory. And as far as Rennia, she is one of the best in this conference. She makes their team go. But Tennessee was tough tonight and I thought this was a great game for women’s basketball, it was a great battle, both teams wanted to win and, unfortunately with COVID, it is day-to-day, sometimes minute-to-minute and that’s what we talk to our players about. You have to be resilient and be able to adjust at any time.”\
#3 Chasity Patterson, Sr., G
On the difference for Kentucky in the fourth quarter…
“Well, it was just intensity for us. We were trying to get the ball, we were trying to get the rebound and push. So, I think us pushing the ball and get those transition points was big for us. The post did a phenomenal job of boxing out and trying to get the pass and get the ball up early, so I feel like that as the main thing. We kind of slipped away a little bit at the beginning of the third quarter, but we turned it around when we came back out there. It was just energy.”
On the new backcourt look…
“Um, I definitely loved coming off the two and having Jazmine (Massengill) at the one. It was just a different look that the coaches said they were going with this game, and I feel like it was a great look for us. I know that Jaz (Jazmine Massengill) can push the ball at the one and get everybody open, so it was just me knocking down shots at that guard spot. It was big for me. So, I feel like that was a good decision.”
On preparing for this game…
“Um, definitely boxing out, making sure we push in transition and not putting too much pressure on the half court. So, just pushing in transition and definitely boxing out. Just talking and bringing the intensity from the beginning of the game for 40 minutes. I feel like that’s the game changer we had in this game. We were very intense the whole game, everybody was locked in.”
On if you took it upon yourself to score more…
“Um, yeah, I definitely had a talk with coach before the game. She was telling me to be aggressive. Put your head down and just go at them and score, so that was my mindset coming into the game playing the two. Just going at them and being aggressive, looking for my shots. So, Rhyne (Howard) definitely did affect the game in other ways besides scoring. She had some big plays, too, so that was big for her, and I was excited for her.”
On what it means for the team to win this, and what does it look like for the team moving forward…
“We came into the game with intensity. I feel like practices have been more intense. So, we’re just going to keep moving forward and keep working on things that we need to work on, which is hanging out hats on defense and then pushing in transition. You know, looking up, trying to box out, stuff like that. Just playing Kentucky basketball, really.”
#13 Jazmine Massengill, Jr., G
On starting tonight…
“She just kind of announced it in shootaround. So, it was just as shocking to me as it was to the team. I was grateful that I had a coach that trusted me enough to start me. I was stunned, but I was very grateful.”
On the 3-pointer toward the end of the third quarter…
“Yeah, that was a big shot. I was kind of struggling in the beginning, in the first half, I couldn’t really hit and I got into some foul trouble, so it was momentum to the team. I mean, making shots is contagious. It was just an intensity aspect. So, that’s what I really feel like that was for all of us. And, just staying and doing things that was helping us from the beginning. We kind of lost it in the third quarter. We stayed away from things that was helping us beat Tennessee.”
On the run at the end of the third and start of the fourth…
“Basketball is a game of runs. Tennessee is a great team, so they’re going to go on their run. It’s just how we respond and how we bounce back. We can’t hang out heads because that’s when great teams like Tennessee take off. So, we just rallied around each other, took it one procession at a time. That’s how we really kind of picked it up at the end.”
On if you released demons from the earlier meeting with Tennessee…
“Yeah, definitely. We had kind of a chip on our shoulder. They’re a great team, and we can compete with any team in the country, so that was a disappointing loss. We had intensity in this game, we just had to get a little pay back I guess you could call it.”
On what Kyra Elzy said between the third and fourth quarter to turn the game around…
“She just kept our nerves at ease. She let us know, like yeah, they’re going to go on their run, but it’s not about them going on their run, it’s how we respond to it. So, she was just making sure that we didn’t lose our head. She kept us very levelheaded. She wanted us to respond to it in the positive way. That’s what she said, and now it is time to punch back, as she called it, she wanted us to respond to it rather than hang our heads.”
On your game…
“I’m definitely a facilitator. I am a pass-first point guard and sometimes I can be very unselfish. Our coach constantly motivates me to be more aggressive. But yeah, I would definitely say I am more of a facilitator, looking to get my teammates open and just doing whatever they need me to do in order for us to get the win.”
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.