University of Kentucky

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

February 1, 2021
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MISSOURI AT NO. 15/14 KENTUCKY  

SUNDAY, JAN. 31, 2021   

MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.   

No. 15/14 Kentucky 61, Missouri 55 – FINAL   

No. 15/14 Kentucky 61, Missouri 55 – FINAL   

Team Records and Series Notes   

  • Kentucky is 13-4 on the year, 6-3 in the SEC, while Missouri falls to 6-6, 2-5 in the league.    
  • This was the 13th all-time meeting between Kentucky and Missouri in women’s basketball.    
    • Kentucky leads the series, 9-4, including 6-0 in Lexington. 
  • Kyra Elzy is in her first season as head coach at Kentucky and holds a 13-4 record.   
  • UK is now 858-552 all-time in its 47th year of varsity women’s basketball.    
  • Kentucky is ranked No. 15 in the latest AP Top 25 and No. 14 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25.    
  • The Wildcats are currently scheduled to travel to Ole Miss on Thursday, Feb. 4 for a 7 p.m. ESTtip. The game will be televised on the SEC Network+. It will be the first of two matchups against the Rebels this season. The teams are also set to meet on Feb. 28. 

Team Notes   

  • Kentucky used the starting combination of senior guard Chasity Patterson, senior forward KeKe McKinney, junior guard Blair Green, junior guard Rhyne Howard and senior forward Tatyana Wyatt.    
    • This is the second-straight game with this starting lineup, and they are 2-0. 
    • Today marked Tatyana Wyatt’s second-straight start. 
    • UK won the tip, marking just the fifth time this season that UK has won the opening tip.  
    • Dre’una Edwards was the first sub for Kentucky – the fifth time for Edwards.   
    • Edwards scored on UK’s first possession – the fourth time this season she has been the first Wildcat to score.    
  • It was a low-scoring first quarter as UK led Missouri, 11-8.  Five different players scored at least two points led by Howard with three.  
    • It tied for the lowest point total in the first quarter this season. UK also had 11 in the win over Arkansas (12/31/20). 
  • Kentucky outscored Missouri 17-10 in the second quarter thanks to a stifling defense and a balanced scoring attack. Six different Wildcats scored, led by Howard and Patterson with four points each. The Wildcats held Mizzou scoreless for over three minutes and limited the Tigers to 28 percent shooting in the first half (8-of-28), including 0-of-10 from beyond the arc. 
  • UK took a 28-18 halftime lead, paced by Howard with seven points. Robyn Benton followed with five. 
  • Kentucky opened the second half with the original starting lineup.  
  • Leading by as many as 13 points (31-18), the Tigers turned up the pace, outscoring UK 21-14 in the third quarter. They used a 6-0 run late to pull within three points, 42-39, to end the quarter. 
    • Kentucky went cold from the field, hitting just 38.5 percent (5-of-13), while Mizzou hit 66.7 percent (8-of-12). 
    • Howard led with nine points.  
  • In the fourth quarter, UK outscored Missouri, 19-16, but the Tigers were relentless. They clawed back to take a three-point lead, 53-50, with 3:23 to play.  
    • Four straight points by Edwards gave the lead back to UK and the Cats would go on to hit seven straight free throws down the stretch for the win. 
    • UK hit just 1-of-9 field goals in the final three minutes, shooting 33.3 percent in the fourth quarter (5-of-15). Missouri also struggled from the field, hitting 33.3 percent (4-of-12). 
  • Today is Kentucky’s fewest points allowed vs. an SEC opponent at Memorial Coliseum (55) since Jan. 16, 2020 vs. Texas A&M (54). 
  • UK held Missouri to 38 percent shooting (20-of-52) in the game, including just six percent from the 3-point line (1-of-18). Missouri has now shot a combined 8.3 percent from 3 (3-of-36) in the last two meetings against Kentucky.  
  • Kentucky is 497-160 all-time in Memorial Coliseum.   
    • UK is now 10-1 this season at home (9-1 in Memorial, 1-0 at Rupp Arena). 
  • For the second-straight game, Kentucky outrebounded its opponent. UK won the battle on the boards, 35-30. 
  • UK’s bench was vital to today’s outcome, outscoring Missouri’s, 21-6. 
  • UK committed 12 turnovers but forced 13 and turned them into 19 points. The Cats are now 7-2 this season when committing less turnovers than the opponent. 

Player Notes   

  • Once again, Rhyne Howard proved why she is an All-American. She led the Cats with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while adding three assists, a block and a steal. 
    • Today marks her 15th career double-double and fourth this season. 
    • This is her 37th career game with 20-plus points, her sixth his season. 
    • Howard now has 1,428 career points. She needs five more to move up to No. 16 on UK’s all-time scoring list with Jodie Whitaker (1,433) and 17 more to jump two spots to tie Tiffany Wait at No. 15 (1,445). 
    • With one trey today, she now has 190 career three-pointers and ranks fourth on UK’s all-time list. She needs seven more to tie Jennifer O’Neill at No. 3 (197). 
    • She has now led UK in scoring in seven games played this season and 45 in her three-year career. 
  • Dre’Una Edwards came off the bench for a near double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. No rebound was bigger than her offensive board with 40 seconds remaining and UK clinging to a one-point lead. 
    • With UK trailing by three (53-50) with 3:23to go in the game, Edwards was clutch. She hit two free throws and followed that up with a layup to give the lead back to the Cats for good.   
    • This is her 11th double-figure scoring game of the season and second in a row. 


No. 15/14 Kentucky 61, Missouri 55 – FINAL   

Team Records and Series Notes   

  • Kentucky is 13-4 on the year, 6-3 in the SEC, while Missouri falls to 6-6, 2-5 in the league.    
  • This was the 13th all-time meeting between Kentucky and Missouri in women’s basketball.    
    • Kentucky leads the series, 9-4, including 6-0 in Lexington. 
  • Kyra Elzy is in her first season as head coach at Kentucky and holds a 13-4 record.   
  • UK is now 858-552 all-time in its 47th year of varsity women’s basketball.    
  • Kentucky is ranked No. 15 in the latest AP Top 25 and No. 14 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25.    
  • The Wildcats are currently scheduled to travel to Ole Miss on Thursday, Feb. 4 for a 7 p.m. ESTtip. The game will be televised on the SEC Network+. It will be the first of two matchups against the Rebels this season. The teams are also set to meet on Feb. 28. 

Team Notes   

  • Kentucky used the starting combination of senior guard Chasity Patterson, senior forward KeKe McKinney, junior guard Blair Green, junior guard Rhyne Howard and senior forward Tatyana Wyatt.    
    • This is the second-straight game with this starting lineup, and they are 2-0. 
    • Today marked Tatyana Wyatt’s second-straight start. 
    • UK won the tip, marking just the fifth time this season that UK has won the opening tip.  
    • Dre’una Edwards was the first sub for Kentucky – the fifth time for Edwards.   
    • Edwards scored on UK’s first possession – the fourth time this season she has been the first Wildcat to score.    
  • It was a low-scoring first quarter as UK led Missouri, 11-8.  Five different players scored at least two points led by Howard with three.  
    • It tied for the lowest point total in the first quarter this season. UK also had 11 in the win over Arkansas (12/31/20). 
  • Kentucky outscored Missouri 17-10 in the second quarter thanks to a stifling defense and a balanced scoring attack. Six different Wildcats scored, led by Howard and Patterson with four points each. The Wildcats held Mizzou scoreless for over three minutes and limited the Tigers to 28 percent shooting in the first half (8-of-28), including 0-of-10 from beyond the arc. 
  • UK took a 28-18 halftime lead, paced by Howard with seven points. Robyn Benton followed with five. 
  • Kentucky opened the second half with the original starting lineup.  
  • Leading by as many as 13 points (31-18), the Tigers turned up the pace, outscoring UK 21-14 in the third quarter. They used a 6-0 run late to pull within three points, 42-39, to end the quarter. 
    • Kentucky went cold from the field, hitting just 38.5 percent (5-of-13), while Mizzou hit 66.7 percent (8-of-12). 
    • Howard led with nine points.  
  • In the fourth quarter, UK outscored Missouri, 19-16, but the Tigers were relentless. They clawed back to take a three-point lead, 53-50, with 3:23 to play.  
    • Four straight points by Edwards gave the lead back to UK and the Cats would go on to hit seven straight free throws down the stretch for the win. 
    • UK hit just 1-of-9 field goals in the final three minutes, shooting 33.3 percent in the fourth quarter (5-of-15). Missouri also struggled from the field, hitting 33.3 percent (4-of-12). 
  • Today is Kentucky’s fewest points allowed vs. an SEC opponent at Memorial Coliseum (55) since Jan. 16, 2020 vs. Texas A&M (54). 
  • UK held Missouri to 38 percent shooting (20-of-52) in the game, including just six percent from the 3-point line (1-of-18). Missouri has now shot a combined 8.3 percent from 3 (3-of-36) in the last two meetings against Kentucky.  
  • Kentucky is 497-160 all-time in Memorial Coliseum.   
    • UK is now 10-1 this season at home (9-1 in Memorial, 1-0 at Rupp Arena). 
  • For the second-straight game, Kentucky outrebounded its opponent. UK won the battle on the boards, 35-30. 
  • UK’s bench was vital to today’s outcome, outscoring Missouri’s, 21-6. 
  • UK committed 12 turnovers but forced 13 and turned them into 19 points. The Cats are now 7-2 this season when committing less turnovers than the opponent. 

Player Notes   

  • Once again, Rhyne Howard proved why she is an All-American. She led the Cats with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while adding three assists, a block and a steal. 
    • Today marks her 15th career double-double and fourth this season. 
    • This is her 37th career game with 20-plus points, her sixth his season. 
    • Howard now has 1,428 career points. She needs five more to move up to No. 16 on UK’s all-time scoring list with Jodie Whitaker (1,433) and 17 more to jump two spots to tie Tiffany Wait at No. 15 (1,445). 
    • With one trey today, she now has 190 career three-pointers and ranks fourth on UK’s all-time list. She needs seven more to tie Jennifer O’Neill at No. 3 (197). 
    • She has now led UK in scoring in seven games played this season and 45 in her three-year career. 
  • Dre’Una Edwards came off the bench for a near double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. No rebound was bigger than her offensive board with 40 seconds remaining and UK clinging to a one-point lead. 
    • With UK trailing by three (53-50) with 3:23to go in the game, Edwards was clutch. She hit two free throws and followed that up with a layup to give the lead back to the Cats for good.   
    • This is her 11th double-figure scoring game of the season and second in a row.