Dre'una Edwards and Rhyne Howard each recorded double-doubles as the Kentucky women's basketball team beat Missouri 78-63 on Thursday night at Mizzou Arena.
Edwards established a new career high with 30 points. She hit 14 of 19 from the floor, including one of two from behind the arc and one of one at the line to score those 30 points. She added 10 rebounds, two blocks and a steal in the game.
Howard, the senior All-American, made five of 13 from the field, including one of four from behind the arc and eight of eight at the line on her way to 19 points. Howard grabbed 12 rebounds, had four assists, four steals and two blocks in the game.
Kentucky (14-11, 7-8 SEC) started the game very quickly, hitting six of its first seven shots from the floor on the way to a 19-4 lead. Howard led the onslaught with seven points as UK built at early advantage.
The Cats would continue to build the lead, getting baskets from Jazmine Massengill, Edwards and Howard to lead 25-8 with 3:06 left in the first period. But from there, Missouri got hot, running off 11 points in a row to cut the UK lead to six, 25-19. But the Cats got the final basket of the period, a three from Robyn Benton, to lead 28-19 after one period of play.
Like they did in the first quarter, Kentucky started quickly in the second period. The Cats went on a 7-2 run to extend the lead to 35-21 with 6:59 to play in the half.
The Cats would continue to hold the lead, including at 42-29 with 3:32 left in the half. But that's when Missouri did what they had done in the first period, rallying to cut into UK's lead. The Tigers scored eight in a row and assembled a 10-2 lead to close the half. Kentucky still led 46-42 at the break.
In the third period, Missouri would continue to try to chip into the UK lead. The Tigers scored the first two points of the half to get within two, 46-44, but Kentucky answered with baskets by Howard and Edwards to extend the lead to six, 50-44.
Kentucky would lead 52-47 before Missouri scored four in a row to get within one, 52-51, with 4:30 left in the period. Edwards would respond with a pair of layups for the Cats to make it 56-51 with 1:27 left in the period. However, Missouri would close the quarter on a 5-1 run to get within one, 57-56, after three quarters.
Early in the fourth quarter, Edwards and the Cats put the game away. Kentucky started the final stanza on a 13-1 run to lead 69-57 with 4:56 to play. Edwards had 11 of the 13 points in the run on her way to a career high in scoring.
From that point, Missouri would never get back within single digits of Kentucky. The Cats would lead by as many as 17 points in the final period before settling for the 15-point win.
Kentucky completes the regular season on Sunday, hosting Auburn on Senior Day. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
