FINAL: Kentucky WBB extends win streak with 78-63 victory over Missouri
Kentucky Women’s Basketball is one step closer to punching their ticket to March Madness.
On Thursday night, the Wildcats (14-11) defeated the Missouri Tigers (17-11) 78-63 in Mizzou Arena. The win is Kentucky’s fifth in a row. After beginning conference play 2-8, Kentucky is now 7-8 and sitting at No. 7 in the league.
In fairness, Missouri wasn’t at full strength. The Tigers were without Aijha Blackwell, Ladazhia Williams, Kiya Dorroh and Skylah Travis in tonight’s contest. Blackwell is a major loss for the Tigers as she leads the team in points in rebounds. Nevertheless, a win is a win.
Captivating start for Kentucky WBB
Missouri’s thin roster was evident early. Kentucky began the game on a 9-2 run, hopping out to an early lead. Rhyne Howard was the spark to Kentucky’s fire. The All-American had nine points and two steals in the first frame alone.
Howard’s nine first-period points were historic. With a 3-pointer with 6:34 left in the frame, Howard surpassed Dan Issel to become second on Kentucky’s all-time scoring list.
To the Tigers’ credit, they didn’t surrender. Missouri closed the quarter on an 11-3 run, cutting Kentucky’s lead to 28-19.
Hayley Frank explodes for Missouri
Kentucky’s second frame wasn’t as glamorous as their first. Both teams had a slow start in the period, each going on two-minute scoring droughts. Then, Missouri’s Hayley Frank came to life.
Without Blackwell, Frank took on the responsibility of scoring for the Tigers. She succeeded, to say the least. In the second frame, Frank dropped another eight points to bring her first-half total to 16. Moreover, the 6-foot-1 forward was efficient, going 4-4 from range in the first half.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, Frank picked up her third foul with under a minute left in the half. Nonetheless, powered by Frank’s standout performance, Missouri narrowly trailed the ‘Cats 46-42 going into the halftime break.
Dre’Una Edwards carries Kentucky WBB
The halftime break seemingly slowed down both squads. The third period was the lowest-scoring quarter of the contest for both teams. The ‘Cats were scoreless for three and a half minutes, while Missouri followed them up with a 3:30 scoring drought of their own.
Dre’Una Edwards was Kentucky’s life raft in their dooming third frame. The 6-foot-2 forward had eight points and five rebounds in just the third period.
Referees caused as much trouble for the Tigers as Edwards. With 5:40 left in the third frame, Frank picked up her fourth foul and sat the remainder of the period. Despite Frank’s absence, Missouri outscored UK 14-11 in the third quarter. The ‘Cats went into the final 10 minutes of the contest with an uncomfortable 57-56 lead.
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Caging the Tigers
The ‘Cats closed out Thursday night’s contest the same way they began it: in spectacular fashion. Early in the period, UK went on an 11-0 run. Once again, Edwards was electric.
The redshirt junior was even more phenomenal in the fourth period than the third. Edwards had 12 points and three rebounds in the frame. Each shot Edwards drilled was another nail in the Tigers’ coffin.
Kentucky’s 11-0 run ended up being a 21-7 quarter. When the dust settled, the ‘Cats pulled away an impressive 78-63 victory.
In no surprise, Edwards was Kentucky’s clear leader in the contest. The star had a career-high 30 points on a jaw-dropping 14-19 shooting performance. Additionally, Edwards snagged 10 rebounds. Howard added 19 points to the ‘Cats’ cause.
As a team, Kentucky shot 30-65 (46%) from the field and 6-22 (27%) from beyond the arc. Moreover, the ‘Cats scored 22 points off Missouri’s 11 turnovers and held the Tigers to zero fastbreak points.
Kentucky’s final game of the regular season will be against Auburn at 4 p.m. on Sunday in Memorial Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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