A look back at the trailblazers of Kentucky WBB — the ones who paved the way for the future

Heading into the Kenny Brooks era of Kentucky women’s basketball, excitement for the program and what is to come is at an all-time high, and rightfully so. In just over two months at the helm, Brooks has masterfully put together a staff and roster that can compete in the SEC and bring hardware to Lexington.

It also helps that the game of women’s basketball is growing as a whole. Viewership across the college and WNBA landscape has sky-rocketed. Merchandise sales are better than ever. Even the biggest talk shows in mainstream media are leading with topics on women’s basketball.

It’s a new day for women’s basketball, and for Kentucky women’s basketball specifically. Before we look forward, however, let’s take a look back. Let’s acknowledge some of the trailblazers who paved the way for the future — for today’s ‘Cats.

Valerie Still (1979-83)

Let’s start with Valerie Still, who is inarguably the GOAT of Kentucky women’s basketball and one of the greatest athletes to ever wear the blue and white in general.

Still holds the UK basketball record (men’s or women’s) for the most points and rebounds in a career with 2,763 points and 1,525 rebounds. She was a 3x All-American as well, but her most notable accomplishment may have occurred in the 1982 SEC Tournament, when she led the Lady Kats to their first-ever conference tournament title, winning the SEC Tournament MVP award.

Throughout her four-year collegiate career, Still averaged 23.2 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. One could argue that Still is the trailblazer for the Kentucky women’s basketball program.

Patty Jo Hedges-Ward (1979-83)

Alongside Still was Patty Jo Hedges-Ward, who helped lead Kentucky to the program’s first-ever SEC Tournament title. She was one of the pioneers at the guard position, and her name will always be etched into the record books.

Hedges-Ward has the most career assists in Kentucky women’s basketball history with 731, she has the third most steals ever, and she is top-20 in career points as well. It wasn’t just the “Valerie Still Show” during the early 80s in Lexington.

The former All-SEC guard was more than pivotal in bringing home the program’s first-ever SEC Tournament title.

Terry Hall (1980-87)

The late Terry Hall was at the helm during Kentucky’s 1982 SEC Tournament run, and that alone is enough to have her immortalized. In her seven seasons coaching the ‘Cats, Hall never had a losing season.

She went 138-66 at Kentucky and led UK to three top-15 finishes in the national rankings.

Under Hall, Kentucky made the NCAA Tournament three times, making the quarterfinals in 1982. Additionally, Kentucky finished in the top seven in the SEC six consecutive seasons, including four top-4 finishes.

Stacey Reed (1991-95)

Of course, we all know Stacey Reed nowadays because she’s the mother of former Kentucky guard and future NBA lottery pick Reed Sheppard and husband to national champion Jeff Sheppard. However, she’s a lot more than that too. Stacey Reed has her own legacy at the University of Kentucky.

Reed is the all-time steals leader at Kentucky with 309 of them, and she was arguably the best long-range shooter the Kentucky women’s basketball program has ever seen. She has the record for most three-point shots made (176) and three-pointers attempted (548). During her career, Kentucky went 65-49.

She was the textbook example of what it meant to be a hustle player — laying it all on the line each and every trip down the floor.

Victoria Dunlap (2007-11)

In Matthew Mitchell’s first season at Kentucky, he had a superstar on his hands in Victoria Dunlap. Dunlap was the 14th overall recruit in the 2007 class (All-Star Girls Report), and it was immediately clear why that was the case.

As a freshman, Dunlap averaged 7.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in an All-SEC Freshman campaign. She would continue to get better, averaging 13.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game across her college career. Her junior and senior seasons specifically were incredible, and she received a lot of awards to prove it.

Dunlap was a 2x AP All-American, 2x SEC Player of the Year, NCAA All-Region player, and was even the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2011. As a junior, she led the ‘Cats to the Elite Eight — the second-ever in program history.

A’dia Mathies (2009-13)

A’dia Mathies may have seen the most success ever at Kentucky as far as team accomplishments go. Mathies led Kentucky to three Elite Eights in four years, and the ‘Cats won the 2012 SEC Regular Season Championship as well — the only in program history.

Of course, she has just as stacked of a resume on a personal level as well. Mathies was All-SEC in each of her four seasons at Kentucky and was a 2x AP All-American. Additionally, she was the 2010 SEC Freshman of the Year.

Mathies averaged 14.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game at Kentucky. She shot 36.8% from three-point range as well. She was just an all-around fantastic player who would have dominated in any era of the game, especially in today’s game.

Makayla Epps (2013-17)

Makayla Epps was always a solid player at Kentucky, especially after her freshman season. During that time, she averaged 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while being named All-SEC and making the All-SEC Tournament team three times.

Epps and the ‘Cats made the NCAA Tournament in each of her four seasons at Kentucky, reaching at least the 2nd round each trip and making the Sweet 16 twice.

Like so many former ‘Cats, the Lebanon native helped pave the way for Bluegrass kids to make their dreams a reality.

Maci Morris (2015-19)

Then, we have one of the all-time fan favorites in Maci Morris. The up-and-comer from Bell County was Cassidy Rowe before Cassidy Rowe — a beacon of hope and someone to look up to for little girls in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, but she was a heck of a player as well.

Morris is top-10 all-time in career points at Kentucky with 1,692, and her 252 career three-pointers made rank second all-time to Stacey Reed. Morris shot 48.4% from deep in 2017-18, which was the highest percentage for a player in a single season in program history. She was a 2x All-SEC selection as well.

In her career, Morris averaged 13.1 points per game, shooting 41.1% from three-point range. She led Kentucky to three NCAA Tournament births, making the Sweet 16 as a freshman.

Matthew Mitchell (2007-20)

Matthew Mitchell is almost certainly the best and most accomplished coach in program history. Of the four Elite Eight’s that Kentucky has ever been to, he went to three of them. He coached the ‘Cats to the 2012 SEC Regular Season Championship, and he is the winningest coach in program history as well with a 281-125 record.

Under Mitchell, Kentucky finished in the top-15 in the AP Poll four times with the highest finish being No. 7 in the nation following a 30-6 season in 2013.

Kentucky had never had a coach with such success, and they haven’t since. Times weren’t always great with Mitchell at the helm, but the positive certainly outweighed the negative.

Rhyne Howard (2018-22)

Where do we start? If it weren’t for Valerie Still, Rhyne Howard would undoubtedly be the GOAT of Kentucky women’s basketball.

Howard’s list of accolades at Kentucky is practically endless. She was 4x All-SEC, a 3x AP All-American, 2x SEC Player of the Year, and was named the SEC Tournament MVP in 2022 when the ‘Cats won the SEC Tournament Championship for the first time in 40 years and second time in program history.

Howard scored 2,290 career points, sitting second in UK history in points scored. Additionally, she is one of only three Wildcats (men’s or women’s) to score 2,000 career points in less than 100 games played. After averaging 20.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game for her career, she would become the first and only player in program history to go No. 1 in the WNBA Draft.

Kyra Elzy (2020-24)

Say what you want about Kyra Elzy. Sure, it would have been nice to win some more games when she was head coach. However, she coached Kentucky to the 2022 SEC Tournament Championship, and that is something that Elzy should always be remembered fondly for.

Elzy took the ‘Cats to the NCAA Tournament twice, and Kentucky finished just inside the AP Top 25 after her first season at the helm (21). She finished her career with a positive overall record of 61-59 as well.

The last two seasons under Elzy weren’t as great as many had hoped for, but you can’t take away the things she accomplished either.