There are at least three certainties this season in Southeastern Conference women's basketball:
South Carolina is really good.
Ole Miss isn't.
It will take a lot more than a broken left finger to keep Kentucky sophomore Rhyne Howard from continuing to dominate the competition.
Despite wearing a brace on her nonshooting hand, the former Bradley Central High School standout racked up 26 points and 10 rebounds in No. 18 Kentucky's impressive 73-62 downing of No. 6 Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon in Lexington's Memorial Coliseum. Howard now has a whopping 1,012 points in just 53 college games.
"She's an elite player," Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell said Sunday in a news conference. "She's an elite talent. She has an elite competitive spirit."
Howard obviously has the elite ability to bounce back as well.
Kentucky sophomore guard Rhyne Howard (10) had 26 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday's 73-62 win over Mississippi State and now has 1,012 points in her 53-game college career. / University of Kentucky photo/Eddie JusticeThe 6-foot-2 guard suffered her broken finger during a victory over Auburn on Jan. 27, but she wound up sitting just three games. Howard returned to action Feb. 9 at Arkansas and needed that game to adjust, as she made only seven of 21 shots and was 1-for-10 from 3-point range.
Sunday's win was Kentucky's first triumph against a top-10 team since 2017.
"I think I was just pumped to be back and just to play with my teammates again," Howard said in a news conference. "We knew that these were going to be big games, and I couldn't come back and just think, 'Oh, my hand's broken. It's time to take time off.'
"I've just got to push through it."
Howard scored 525 points in 32 games last season, averaging 16.4 points per contest in earning national freshman of the year honors. She has tallied 487 already this season and leads the SEC with 23.1 points a game.
Only Valerie Still, who collected 2,763 points from 1979 to 1983, reached 1,000 points faster among Kentucky players. Valerie's older brother, Art Still, was an All-America defensive end for the Wildcats in 1977 and went on to a 12-year NFL career that included four Pro Bowl appearances with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kentucky (19-5, 8-4 SEC) moved up to No. 14 in the Associated Press poll released Monday.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.