Rhyne Howard wore injured senior teammate Blair Green's jersey in her final home game and scored a season-high 32 points to help UK win its sixth straight game. (Vicky Graff Photo)
It figured Sunday was going to be a memorable day for Kentucky senior Rhyne Howard but I am not quite sure anyone expected it to be so memorable, so quick. Howard, the second all-time leading scorer at UK, was playing her final home game Sunday. Kentucky was hosting Auburn looking for a sixth straight win to keep alive its NCAA Tournament hopes.
Commemorative posters of Howard along with crowns indicating she was the queen of Kentucky basketball were given to fans. Howard wore No. 5 instead of her normal No. 10 to honor injured senior teammate Blair Green, her roommate for four years at UK who has missed this season with an Achilles tendon injury.
Howard was honored during a pregame ceremony and then she gave the show everyone wanted to see — she had four 3-pointers and scored 16 points IN THE FIRST QUARTER to start UK’s 90-62 win over Auburn.
She finished the game with a season-high 32 points on 11-for-20 shooting — 8-for-13 from 3 (a new school record for 3’s in a game) along with two rebounds, two assists and two steals before coach Krya Elzy took her out with 6 minutes, 20 seconds still to play. The coach and player had a long embrace before Howard went and hugged every player and staff member.
Howard even talked to the crowd after a video tribute in her honor after the game.
“I just want to thank everybody for coming out today. This was a very special game and you showed up and showed out,” Howard said.
She asked for a special cheer for Green.
“It’s sad I didn’t get to play my last (home) game with her. She had my back and will be my sister for life,” Howard said.
Elly was wearing a Rhyne Howard T-shirt when she came for her postgame press conference.
“I told her I would wear the shirt. We are going to celebrate all day,” the UK coach said.
Why not? Elzy and UK fans know it could be a long, long time before they see a three-time All-American score over 2,180 points and likely be the top pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft.
Elzy said that Howard “showed up and showed out” on her day and it was no surprise to her.
“I am so proud of her and the legacy she is leaving. She is one of a kind,” Elzy said.
Need proof? Howard told Blair when she was hurt before the season started that she was going to wear her jersey on senior night.
“I had her powers,” Howard said. “It meant a lot for both of us.”
What about that first quarter? What did that mean?
“It was a great first quarter,” Howard, who was wearing a crown at her postgame press conference, smiled and said. “It was really fun. My teammates kept finding me and I kept shooting it. If it is going in, I am going to let it fly.”
Howard, though, was most proud that her team kept winning to keep alive its postseason hopes. Kentucky rallied to get the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament and will play Mississippi State Thursday at 7 p.m. in Nashville. Winning that game could definitely get UK into the NCAA, especially with the star power of Howard.
“We knew it was a must-win and knew it was emotional for everybody but everybody was locked in and on the same page,” Howard said. We just wanted to go out with a bang.”
Howard ranks second in school history in career scoring average at 20 points per game and is tied for second in field goals made with 756, first in career 3’s with 272, and fourth in career 3-point percentage at 37.4 and steals per game at 2.367.
