Rhyne Howard (SEC Photo)
Kentucky coach Krya Elzy said there was no doubt the 92-86 overtime win at Mississippi State Sunday proved why Howard is the nation’s best player in case anyone had any doubts. Howard scored 33 points, including 25 in the fourth quarter and overtime, as No. 2 UK beat its second straight ranked Southeastern Conference opponent.
Howard got in early foul trouble and had just four points in the first half. She had 15 points in the fourth quarter and then scored 10 of Kentucky’s 14 points in overtime.
“She can take over at any time. She is so gifted but also unselfish,” Elzy said. “She has a high basketball IQ and is a great passer. When it is time to take over (a game), she just gives me that look. We just have that connection. When it is time to make big plays we put the ball in her hands and let her do what she does best.”
Howard added 10 rebounds and six assists. She was 10 of 19 from the field, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range, and nine of 10 at the foul line.
“I think that we had some people that got winded, and we lost her,” Mississippi State coach Nikki McCray-Penson said about Howard’s late-game scoring. “That comes with being a great player. She can make you forget about her, and then she just torched us. She torched us in the fourth quarter.
“I thought that we had control. Then, she took over. That’s when we have to be locked in defensively.”
The junior star said the win meant a lot and can only help the team’s confidence.
“This is a tough place to play,” Howard said. “It does give us a lot of confidence and shows us that we can compete with the teams ranked higher than us and compete with other teams who are just as good as us. We can hold our own.”
The Wildcats hit 30 of 61 (49.2 percent) from the field, including 14 of 28 from 3-point range. Seven players hit a 3, including KeKe McKinney with three and Blair Green with two.
“We put up a lot of shots in practice,” Elzy said. “Today they went in.”
“Everyone can shoot. If it is open, we take it,” Howard said. “We push for everyone to shoot 3’s.”
Kentucky thought it would have a chance to win the game in regulation but a five-second call when Howard could not inbound the ball gave State the game-winning shot that it missed.
“We all knew it was a bad call but we all came together and said, ‘Let’s get a stop and capitalize on it and make them pay for it,'” Howard said.
Elzy said not letting every foul trouble or a controversial call upset her is one area Howard has made major strides.
“She can compose herself now,” Elzy said. “That’s where maturity comes in. Try not to get too low or high and just stay steady. She kept us calm in the huddle.”
Howard now has 1,308 points — 21st all time at UK — and 181 career 3’s — fourth most in school history.
Odds are she’s going to move to the top of both lists, or at least give Valerie Still’s scoring record a run, because she has already decided she will be back at UK next year and not in the WNBA where Elzy knows she will be a first-round pick.
“Luckily for Big Blue Nation it will not be next year (when she is a first-round pick) because she is not going to enter the draft early,” Elzy said. “When it is her time, she will be a No. 1 pick.”
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Kentucky plays again Thursday at Texas A&M, another top 15 team. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
