Chasity Patterson had 16 points Sunday. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Chasity Patterson is a disruptive point guard. The Kentucky standout can disrupt a game with her defensive quickness but also be a productive scorer like she was Sunday when she led No. 9 UK with 16 points and four assists in an 88-54 win over Samford. But she might have been even better on defense where she had seven steals, the fourth time in six games she has led the Cats in steals this year.
“She is definitely a great player, and it is just great to have her out on the floor. Especially with her being as fast as she is, she is stopping the ball on defense and making the plays on offense,” Kentucky All-American Rhyne Howard — who had 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists — said.
“She is looking to create for others, and she can also create for herself and knock down the open shots. It’s good to have her out there to make sure we are in the right spots and get us into something quick if we need it.”
Coach Kyra Elzy calls her an “extremely talented” player who fits UK’s system of up-tempo play.
“I mean the speed that she has is just extremely dangerous, on top of, she can score at all three levels. She can get to the rim and finish, she had an and-1 today, that’s something she and coach Amber (Smith) work on in their position work,” Elzy said after Sunday’s win.
“She can shoot in the midrange, and then she can knock down the 3, so you have to play her honest and I think she is playing with so much more confidence offensively. She knows what we’re looking for offensively. I like the fact that she is willing to come in, watch film, she wants to know what I am looking for, and I think that has helped her game tremendously, studying the game.”
Patterson is averaging 14 points per game and shooting 47.6 percent overall from the field and 81 percent at the foul line. She already has 22 steals and 18 assists — but only six turnovers in 177 minutes of play. That’s about one turnover per 30 minutes played. Think John Calipari would like to have a point guard taking care of the ball like that and also making steals?
“When I am coming into the game, my mindset is just to be aggressive on the ball and put pressure on the other point guard. That’s my mindset coming into every game, just forcing turnovers and making it easier on my team in transition and score off the defensive plays,” Patterson said after the win. “When we step on the court, it’s just straight ball, and I’m competing.”
Instead of considering herself UK’s defensive leader, she says she is only one of the defensive leaders.
“We can all say that we’re defensive leaders. It’s just the will to put in the effort and be aggressive for 40 minutes of the game. Sometimes we can slip away from our defensive intensity, but I think everybody can be a defensive leader on this team,” Patterson said.
She was pleased that UK had 23 assists in Sunday’s win and shot 42 percent from 3-point range.
“I’ve said from the very beginning we’re going to play team basketball, share the basketball, and we’re not going to take just good shots, we’re going to take great shots. So we did execute,” Patterson said.
It doesn’t hurt to have teammates like Howard and Dre’una Edwards to help a team’s offensive efficiency.
“It definitely frees up my game. I am trying to get everybody involved as a point guard, but having that post presence (Edwards), and then having Rhyne, we can all get on the ball and get off the ball.That really frees up everybody to be aggressive, and it just makes it harder on our opponents,” Patterson said.
Kentucky plays again Wednesday in Chicago against DePaul. Tipoff is 3 p.m. EST.
