Georgia had no answer for stopping Rhyne Howard in the fourth quarter. (UK Athletics Photo)
If you ever wondered why Rhyne Howard is an all-American and considered by many to be the nation’s best player, just look at what happened in the fourth quarter Thursday night when No. 21 Kentucky beat No. 15 Georgia 84-76 in Memorial Coliseum. Howard scored 17 of her game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter to give Kentucky a much-needed win to open Southeastern Conference play after two previous SEC games were delayed by COVID protocols.
“You can’t give up 84 points in this league to a good team. Rhyne Howard is obviously who Rhyne Howard is. I just didn’t think we did a really good job of getting stops, take her out of it. She’s capable of going for 30 and us still getting the win,” said Georgia coach Joni Taylor.
“We just weren’t very disciplined, we weren’t very sound and we’ve got some experienced players making mistakes that they should not be making at this point.”
Howard didn’t downplay what the win meant.
“It was super big for us. Our first SEC game like he said, our first game back in a couple of weeks. So, for us to come out and make a statement like this, and be able to fight and be able to hold our own is just big for us,” Howard, who was 12 of 20 from the field, said.
“I’m just so proud of everyone and how we’ve battled back from all the adversity that we’ve been facing.”
Howard also had five rebounds, three steals and one assist.
Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy said Wednesday she just wanted Howard to have fun and relax. Howard did both against Georgia.
“The 30 tonight is just what was coming to me. Obviously, I went to go get some of those buckets, but the game really came to me,” Howard said. “My teammates found me, like Dre (Edwards) and all the post players set really good screens. So, it was just about staying in rhythm and just making it easy. Work smarter, not harder.”
Howard went five-for-five at the foul line and hit several key free throws in the fourth quarter.
“It was just about stepping up and being able to finish out the game and continuing to go hard so that my teammates will follow behind me,” Howard said. “I have to be able to make those 50/50 plays like tying the ball up or the hustle plays, because those are things that don’t go on the stat sheet.
“So, making those is just as big as you know, hitting the game-winner or making free throws like he said.”
