Vicky Graff Photo
It has been a forgettable season for Kentucky women’s basketball that lost its fifth straight game Sunday and dropped to 9-15 overall and 2-8 in Southeastern Conference play. However, one bright spot at times has been the play of sophomore guard Cassidy Rowe.
She played 53 total minutes her freshman season. In Sunday’s loss to Texas A&M she played 32 minutes and is now averaging 18 minutes per game this year.
Rowe had six points on 2-for-5 shooting from 3-point range Sunday along with two rebounds and one assist.
Rowe is undersized against most SEC guards but is a relentless competitor. She took another charge Sunday to give her NINETEEN drawn charges in 24 games.
“Cass is a knockdown shooter. She practices it. I have a lot of confidence in her especially, when she can catch and shoot the ball,” Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy said after the win. “I thought she moved and got open and I want to give her a big shout-out. She plays extremely hard.
“She leads the team and charges no matter the size. She is going to stand in there and take the charge. I think she has taken 19 this year. She’s going to get one every game and that’s the ultimate sacrifice for your team, the dirty work that doesn’t necessarily end up in the headlines of the paper. So shoutout to Cassidy Rowe and her intensity and the ability to sacrifice her body.”
Some players might take exception to being known as a blue-collar player. Not Rowe. She embraces it and takes pride in her old-fashioned attitude and work ethic.
“Whenever I hear blue-collar player, I think about diving on the floor, getting those loose balls, taking charges, and just doing the dirty work that doesn’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet,” the former Shelby Valley standout said. “I feel like we have a few girls on the team that take a lot of pride in that.”
Rowe is also one who always compliments teammates and did again after Sunday’s game.
“I thought we had some really good segments where we were sharing the ball really good, which makes it easy for me to get open looks,” Rowe said. “Coach Elzy always talks about if I have that shot, I should take it, and she has helped build my confidence.
“As far as the charges, I feel like those are huge momentum shifts that we need as a team. That’s something that I’m always going to do. I take a lot of pride in it.
“Also, shout out to Janae Walker, I thought she had an amazing minute today, and she came in and took some charges. Those were huge, and we needed those.”
