Kentucky continues to run miracles, takes the SEC women’s basketball crown for the first time since 1982

On February 10, just over a month from Selection Sunday, March Madness seemed unlikely for the Kentucky women’s basketball team. Wildcats are 9-11 overall and 2-8 in the SEC.

For senior Rhyne Howard, who plays the SEC twice a year, the end of her stellar Wildcat career looks bleak.

Then things changed for Kentucky. The Wildcats are on a 10-game winning streak, culminating in a 64-62 loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday, giving Kentucky its first SEC championship since 1982.

“We started having fun,” Howard said of the Wildcats’ dramatic change. “When things got tough, we basically acted like we didn’t want to be there. That’s how it looked and how it appeared to our fans.

“We had a team meeting where we said, ‘This is it. We can’t end up like this.’ Especially with so many of us seniors. We knew we had to work together.”

They became the first team in SEC women’s tournament history to beat the top three seeds en route to the title. The Wildcats, the 7th seed, won 4 games in Nashville, Tennessee, to take the title, topping the 1st seed South Carolina, 2nd seed LSU, 3rd Tennessee and 10 Mississippi.

The winning basket is Dre’una Edwards’ 3 pointer when under 5 seconds left. The Gamecocks were unable to get a quality shot, and the Wildcats celebrated a championship they had neglected for 40 years. Kentucky won the championship in 1982 against Tennessee when the tournament was only in its third year. Since then, the Wildcats have lost in the SEC finals in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014.

Not long ago, it seemed highly unlikely that Kentucky would even make it to the SEC finals this year.

Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy said of this season: “We were put in situations where our backs were against the wall, and we had enough strength to step up.” “We are a talented team.”

Elzy predicts that when Kentucky finally takes possession, the South Carolina defense will focus on Howard, who was the MVP of the SEC tournament.

“I said to Dre, ‘If they’re with Rhy and you’re open, take a picture,'” Elzy said. “I’m confident in that shot; she works with it. When the footage came out, I knew it very well.”

Edwards led Kentucky with 27 points and nine rebounds on Sunday, while Howard had 18 points. For the league, Howard averaged 22.0 points per game.

The Wildcats have lost to South Carolina twice in the regular season, but they were able to let the Gamecocks 29-2 be just their second loss of the season on Sunday. South Carolina also lost to Missouri in extra time on December 30.

ESPN’s rocket expert Charlie Creme predicted the win that lifted the Wildcats, 19-11 overall and 8-8 in the SEC, to the seventh seed.

Meanwhile, South Carolina remains the No. 1 seed overall in the locked NCAA tournament, according to Creme. The Gamecocks have won six of the last seven SEC championships.

Aliyah Boston had 21 points and 11 rebounds for South Carolina, the 1st team since pre-season. South Carolina won the 44-32 rebound battle Sunday but made only 12 of the 20 free throws, which was expensive.

“We had to get back to the drawing board,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. “We weren’t a bad basketball team, we just played two bad innings at the worst of times. In fact we dropped 21 points in the fourth quarter. We had to go back and see the defense. Where are our failings..

“Hats for Kentucky. They’re hot, they’re hitting. I’m excited for Kyra and their program and their ability to weather some early storms and see themselves as our SEC tournament champion.”