Playing with one hand, Rhyne Howard put on a legendary performance against South Carolina
Without a single fan realizing it, Rhyne Howard had a legendary performance on Thursday night.
In Kentucky’s 59-50 loss to No. 1 South Carolina, Howard had 21 points while shooting 8-15 from the field and 4-5 from beyond the arc. Additionally, Howard recorded nine rebounds and four assists in the stellar performance.
While these statistics are impressive, they’re not unordinary for Kentucky’s First-Team All-American. The true awe of Howard’s performance comes when you realize she played with essentially one hand.
Howard is one of the few Kentucky players who has evaded injury this season. Howard’s good luck ran dry on Thursday night. The 6-foot-2 guard sprained her right thumb early in the contest. After a timeout midway through the first frame, Howard returned to the court with her right hand wrapped in tape, tape that wasn’t there in warmups.
Rhyne Howard on the injury
Howard’s discomfort was evident immediately. After each dribble, the guard would grab her shooting hand in pain. The 6-foot-2 superstar discussed the injury after the contest while wearing a hand brace.
“[The injury] definitely affected me. It was throbbing the whole game. But, I mean, I was hoping the adrenaline would kick in,” Howard said during the postgame press conference. “It was kind of hard to catch the ball or even dribble.”
For a while, Howard’s injury seemingly neutralized her. Through the first three periods of the game, Howard had just five points. Moreover, Howard didn’t even shoot in the third quarter. Then, it was Rhyne Time.
As if on cue, the Cheryl Miller Award nominee came to life in the final 10 minutes of the contest. In the fourth quarter, Howard dropped 16 points on 6-8 shooting from the field and a perfect 3-3 from range. Although Howard’s Herculean display wasn’t enough to secure a comeback victory, it did lead to some jaw-dropping highlights.
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Kyra Elzy on her star’s mental toughness
Head coach Kyra Elzy couldn’t provide much of an update on Howard’s injury, but was proud of how she fought through the adversity.
“She battled through it,” Elzy said during the postgame press conference.
The Kentucky senior’s mental toughness is admirable. Game-in and game-out Howard is enemy No. 1 of opposing teams. Nonetheless, Howard approaches each game with the same poise and confidence. An injured thumb wasn’t enough to break Howard’s spirit.
Elzy stated why she believed Howard had such a successful final period.
“I thought she started playing downhill. Rhyne was aggressive off the dribble. She made her mind up that she was going to finish at the rim. She made some big buckets down the stretch,” Elzy said.
With only six games remaining in the regular season, Kentucky will need Howard’s contributions and then some. Nevertheless, if the ‘Cats have any certainties, it’s Rhyne Howard will always be on that court if able.
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