LEXINGTON, Ky. – Rhyne Howard (pictured) hit a 15-foot jumper with three seconds remaining, lifting the 17th-ranked Kentucky women's basketball team to a 61-59 win over Arkansas Sunday at Memorial Coliseum.
With 2:10 left, Morris knocked down a pair of free throws, giving the Cats a 57-53 edge. But Arkansas' Chelsea Dungee scored on the other end, cutting the lead to 57-55 with 1:55 left in the game. But on the ensuing possession, Kentucky missed two shots, but got two offensive rebounds before Howard converted a putback, making it 59-55 with 1:05 to play.
Dungee then hit one of two at the line, cutting the lead to 59-56. Kentucky had chances to put the game away, but the Cats missed four straight at the line before seeing Arkansas' Raven Northcross-Baker hit a three from the corner to tie the game at 59 apiece with 22 seconds left.
After a Kentucky timeout, Howard milked the clock before driving into the lane and hitting the jumper that would ultimately win the game. Arkansas had one final possession, but Howard intercepted an Arkansas inbounds pass to seal the victory.
Howard finished the game with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while senior Taylor Murray scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Senior Maci Morris scored 11 points in the game and moved into sixth place on UK's career scoring list. Morris now has 1,608 points during her storied career in Lexington.
The Cats (21-5, 8-4 SEC) hit just 34.3 percent (23-67) from the field in the game, but UK held the Hogs to just 40 percent (22-55).
Arkansas (16-10, 5-7) got a game-high 20 points from Dungee.
Kentucky returns to action on Thursday, visiting Columbia to take on South Carolina. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
UK Athletics Photo