Rhyne Howard, left, had plenty of reasons to celebrate after scoring 32 points in UK's win over LSU Friday night. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Rhyne Howard played like the All-American she is and scored 32 points as Kentucky upset second-seeded LSU 78-63 Friday night in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals in Nashville. It was UK’s eighth straight win and puts the Cats into the tourney semifinals tonight against Tennessee.
Howard was 11 of 18 from the floor, including 6-for-8 from 3-point range. She also was 4-for-4 at the foul line. It was the 10th time in her career that Howard has scored at least 30 points. She also had three rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Dre’una Edwards had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Kentucky while Treasure Hunt had 13 points.
Here is everything Howard had to say at the UK postgame press conference:
Q. You guys forced 13 LSU turnovers tonight, in your guys’ first game you only forced 8. What was the difference for your defense out there?
RHYNE HOWARD: We were just clicking on all cylinders we were very aggressive from the jump, and we knew with our pressure defensively and we could force a few turnovers, which would lead into easy buckets.
Q. I think there was 90 seconds in the third quarter there they had trimmed the lead to 9 and Coach called a timeout and it wasn’t within less than double digits since then. When you think back to that time out how did that shape the rest of the game?
RHYNE HOWARD: We basically just said let’s lock in. The game is not over yet. You never know like what could happen with that much time left in the game, and with them cutting the lead, we knew we were losing focus and we just needed to regroup.
Q. Rhyne, the way you all started that game knocking down threes, I think you had three there in a short period, were you just seeing the hoop easily tonight? What was the key to getting that start and how key was it to get that jump in this game?
RHYNE HOWARD: Yeah. Usually, I don’t have that much space to get my shot off, so when I see it I’m taking it and it was just going in tonight.
Q. Rhyne, in the grand scheme of things hitting that basket with one shoe on your foot, probably wasn’t the difference in the game, but at that moment did you know, I probably can’t miss today?
RHYNE HOWARD: Yeah, so my thought process is if you lose a shoe, socks don’t have any grip. So if I don’t shoot, we have to play a whole possession with one shoe. But if I shoot, it felt good oh. I was like, yeah, that’s in. I had time to put the shoe back on before we go back on defense.
Q. Rhyne, we’ve seen you wear Blair Green’s jersey the last couple of games, but today she was on the bench with it and you’re back in your usual No. 10. What went through that decision and do you plan on wearing the 5 anymore this year?
RHYNE HOWARD: Yesterday I wore it because it was my close friend Terrence Clark’s last game at Kentucky against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament, so that really meant a lot to me. I had to put it on one more time for him. I don’t know if I’ll wear it again. I could but I don’t know. I’ll talk to Blair. We talk about everything, so I get her consent before I just throw it on.
Q. You guys were for the second game in a row celebrating out there when you’re hitting shots, dancing after the win. How much do you think the positive energy is contributing to this run you guys are having?
RHYNE HOWARD: When we’re high energy and, you know, just having fun, that’s when the game is easier for us, and when we’re like stressed out or just like trying to do specific things, so if we know we can like dance around and have fun, then it’s like oh, so we can just go out and continue this energy and keep this energy and use it to our advantage.
Q.A month ago you guys were two games below .500, 2-8 in SEC, and nowhere near the tournament picture and everything has changed since then. What do you think has been the biggest contributing factor for why that’s been the case?
RHYNE HOWARD: I would say our confidence, most definitely. After we got back healthy and got everyone back, it was like all right, it’s go time. It’s either we go to the Tournament or we go to the Tournament, and there was no other option than for us to starting winning and just having fun with the game.
