RECAP: Kentucky WBB falls 65-57 in devastating loss to Vanderbilt

If one word summed up Kentucky Women’s Basketball’s Thursday night, it’d be disastrous.

The Wildcats (9-8) fell to the Vanderbilt Commodores (11-10) 65-57 in an ugly outing. Kentucky has now lost four of their last five games. In fairness, Kentucky was missing a lot of key pieces.

Final from Nashville. pic.twitter.com/igTiD3SDmp

— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) January 28, 2022

For the fourth-straight game, Dre’Una Edwards was not with the team due to disciplinary matters. Robyn Benton was out due to an ankle injury for her third game in a row.

While these absences were expected, Treasure Hunt’s was not. The sophomore forward didn’t play tonight after suffering an injury prior to the game. With Hunt out, the Wildcats had just six healthy players.

Once again, Rhyne Howard stepped up to the challenge. The reigning SEC Player of the Year dropped a double-double, recording 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Howard’s 25 points helped her officially reach 2,000 points as a Kentucky Wildcat. Howard was 8-17 from the field and 4-8 from 3-point range.

Fatigue seemed to play a larger effect on Howard’s fellow ‘Cats. As a team, UK shot 38% from the field and 22% from beyond the arc. Worse, Kentucky committed a season-high 25 turnovers.

Ball control was an issue from the opening moments of the game.

Turnovers terrorize UK early

Everywhere Kentucky looked in the first period, there were turnovers. The team committed nine miscues in the first frame, three of which came from freshman Jada Walker.

Head coach Kyra Elzy discussed team’s turnover issues after the game.

“Vanderbilt was really aggressive in the traps. They didn’t let us set up in our offense. They kept trapping from side-to-side,” Elzy said. “We just didn’t handle traps well.”

Kentucky made up for their poor ball control by dominating the boards. UK doubled Vanderbilt’s first-quarter rebound total; their height was an obvious advantage.

Despite having an ugly quarter, Kentucky dragged into the second frame trailing 17-15.

Rhyne Howard takes over for Kentucky WBB

UK’s hideous first 10 minutes awoke a monster: Rhyne Howard. The All-American guard had 11 of Kentucky’s 13 second-quarter points. Howard drained three buckets from deep to keep the contest tight.

On the money! 🎯 @howard_rhyne

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— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) January 28, 2022

Unfortunately for the ‘Cats, Howard was their only bright spot. Kentucky had another seven turnovers in the period to bring their first-half total to 17. Moreover, Walker reached a season-high five turnovers before the halftime buzzer could sound.

To make matters worse, the Commodores were hot in the second frame, going 4-7 from beyond the arc. Despite Kentucky’s subpar half, UK headed into the half with a narrow 35-28 deficit.

Stars collide in the third

Howard kept her momentum rolling in the third period, scoring nine points. However, she wasn’t the only star on the hardwood. Vanderbilt’s Brinae Alexander dropped eight points in the third frame, bringing her total to 24 points.

Elzy gave props to Vanderbilt’s standout player.

“She shot the ball extremely well. We didn’t do a great job of shading to her side in the zone. We gave her some open looks, thought she caught fire early.”

Heading into the last 10 minutes, we had ourselves a good, old-fashioned superstar showdown. Vanderbilt led Kentucky 52-46 going into the final quarter.

Rhyne Howard disappears in the fourth for Kentucky WBB

Howard could only carry the ‘Cats for so long. The guard only scored two points in the fourth on 1-4 shooting. With Howard down-and-out, Emma King stepped up.

The junior guard rattled off a 5-0 run of her own to cut Kentucky’s deficit to three points. King’s offensive burst was fueled by four Vanderbilt turnovers in a matter of minutes. Nevertheless, the Commodores refused to let their lead slip away.

With a couple final baskets, Vanderbilt secured a 65-57 victory. Due to Kentucky’s outstanding 25 turnovers, the Commodores nearly tripled UK’s points off of them.

Perhaps more disheartening, Vanderbilt won the battle of the offensive glass. An undersized Commodores team grabbed two more offensive rebounds than Kentucky and, consequently, scored more second-chance points.

Although Kentucky only had six healthy players, the scoring wasn’t more focused than normal. In fact, it was just the opposite. Walker was the only ‘Cat other than Howard to score double figures. Kentucky’s third-leading scorer was King with nine points.

Kentucky has two days to recompose themselves and, more importantly, get healthy. On Sunday, the Wildcats will go on the road for the third straight time to face No. 12 LSU in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at 2 p.m. EST. That game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.