Freshman Rhyne Howard scored a career high 29 points, including a school-record-tying seven three-pointers, as the Kentucky women’s basketball team beat Southern University 91-41 on Sunday night at Memorial Coliseum.
By hitting seven shots from behind the arc, on just 11 attempts, Howard tied the school record set by Sara Potts in 2005.
Howard’s effort on Sunday marks the most points scored by a UK freshman since 2014, when Alexis Jennings had 27 points against Tennessee State.
Senior Maci Morris scored in double figures with 12 points tonight despite battling foul trouble, while fellow senior Taylor Murray had 11 points and seven assists.
Kentucky started the game on a 17-2 run. Morris and Murray got off to hot starts, scoring Kentucky’s first six points. The Wildcats defense forced nine turnovers that transitioned into 15 points in the quarter, resulting in a 27-11 UK lead at the end of the first quarter.
Kentucky made three consecutive three-pointers in the second period, by Howard, Roper, then Howard again, giving Kentucky a 41-16 lead. Murray assisted on all three of those long-range makes. The three three-pointers were a part of an 18-4 run to put the Cats up at halftime 50-18.
The Cats opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run to increase the lead to 40 with 8:12 to go in the third quarter. Sophomore KeKe McKinney and Howard each scored four points to lead Kentucky in the quarter, which ended with Kentucky on top 67-28.
McKinney scored five points, had five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals in an across-the-board effort. Sophomore Tatyana Wyatt had eight points and five rebounds for the Cats.
Kentucky ended the game on a 7-0 streak to win and outscored the Jaguars 24-13 in the fourth quarter. The Cats caused 29 turnovers, including 15 steals, that turned into 41 points. Kentucky’s bench added 26 points.
This was 800th win in Kentucky’s program history. Every player who played for the Wildcats on Sunday scored at least once.
The Wildcats will play against the University of Virginia at Rupp Arena on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. That game can be seen on the SEC Network.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.
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For more information contact:
Evan Crane
