Rhyne Howard now 2nd all-time on Kentucky WBB scoring list

Just one game after hitting the 2,000 career point mark, Rhyne Howard achieved another significant accomplishment in her soon-to-be Hall of Fame career.

On Sunday afternoon, Howard moved into second place on Kentucky Women’s Basketball’s all-time scoring list, passing A’dia Mathies in the process. The 6-foot-2 senior guard dropped in 23 points in a road loss to LSU, putting her at 2,023 for her career in 101 games played.

Mathies finished her UK career with 2,014 points. Howard is unlikely to break Valerie Still’s all-time record though, as the latter sits with an outstanding 2,763 career points during her four-year career in Lexington.

With her 23 points today, @howard_rhyne moves up the all-time scoring leaders list to No. 2⃣!#CrownHer 👑 pic.twitter.com/FSUJLCFwB9

— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) January 30, 2022

“The accolades continue,” UK head coach Kyra Elzy said of Howard following Sunday’s game “She is a talented basketball player and what she has done for Kentucky Women’s Basketball — and women’s basketball in general — she’s truly one of a kind. To sit back and watch her grow as a player from her freshman year to her senior year, she continues to get better.

“But what makes her special: one, her leadership. During this time, no one wants their senior year to go like this and she continues to put her heart on the floor and give all that she has for her teammates and this program. So her leadership but also her resiliency as a player. It has not always been easy for her and she has stepped up and made play after play after play. She still has a lot of basketball left, we are blessed that she’s a Wildcat, and I think she continues to show why she is the best player in the country.”

Now a senior, it’s been another impressive individual season for Howard. The two-time reigning SEC Player of the Year and consensus All-American leads Kentucky with 20.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest on 44.3 percent shooting from the floor. She’s widely expected to go either No. 1 or No. 2 in the upcoming WNBA Draft.

Unfortunately, her UK team is just 9-9 overall and 2-6 in the SEC. Kentucky will take a much-needed break from games, going a full week in between contests after playing four in just seven days.

Kentucky WBB all-time leading scorers

1. Valerie Still (1979-83) – 2,763 points; 119 games
2. Rhyne Howard (2018-pres.) – 2,023 points; 101 games
3. A’dia Mathies (2010-13) – 2,014 points; 140 games
4. Victoria Dunlap (2008-11) – 1,846 points; 113 games
5. Leslie Nichols (1982-86) – 1,797 points; 111 games
6. Makayla Epps (2013-17) – 1,790 points; 133 games
7. Maci Morris (2015-19) – 1,692 points; 129 games