University of Kentucky senior guard Rhyne Howard has been named one of 15 players to the annual Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, it was announced Tuesday afternoon.
So far this season, Howard is leading Kentucky by averaging 19.4 points per game, earning 6.9 rebounds per game with 55 assists, 43 steals, 21 blocks and a team best 22 3-pointers.
Howard ranks top-20 nationally in steals per game at 2.87. She is third in the league in that category and fourth in the league in total steals. The guard is also 12th in the league in blocks per game. She has led UK in scoring nine times this season, in assists seven times, in steals 11 times, in blocks eight times and has four double-doubles with one triple-double.
Her best game this season came against top-15 ranked Georgia, scoring 30 points in the game, including 22 in the second half. She scored 17 points in the fourth quarter. On top of scoring UK’s last 10 points in the game, she scored 13 of UK’s last 17 points overall. She also shined against West Virginia, when she scored 27 points, going 5-of-7 from long range with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Against Winthrop, Howard joined an exclusive club by becoming the third player in UK history to record a triple-double in a game. She scored 22 points against the Eagles with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, adding five steals.
Howard's junior season was one for the record books at Kentucky, earning first-team All-America honors from the Associated Press, Women's Basketball Coaches Association, United States Basketball Writers Association and Wooden Award. She was one of four finalists for the WBCA Wade Trophy, one of five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, one of four finalists for the 2021 Naismith Trophy and a finalist for the 2021 Cheryl Miller Award. For the second year in a row, Southeastern Conference coaches named Howard the SEC Player of the Year, while she earned All-SEC First Team honors for the third straight season.
Howard – who was the only player in the nation in 2020-21 to average over 20 points per game with at least 7.3 rebounds per game, 90 assists and 60 steals – had a great junior season for the Wildcats, averaging 20.7 points per game with 7.3 rebounds per game. She hit a team-best 56 3-pointers and had 91 assists, 61 steals and 19 blocks. Although her scoring average was two points less than it was in 2019-20, Howard showed she is an all-around player and not just a scorer, upping her rebounds per game, assists per game and steals per game average from both her freshman and sophomore seasons.
The native of Cleveland, Tennessee, played 24 games last season with nearly half of those coming against top-25 ranked opponents. In those games, Howard showed she is the best player in the country with impressive numbers. In 11 games against ranked opponents, Howard averaged 22.3 points per game, hitting 47.1 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from 3 with 6.7 rebounds per game and 3.0 assists per game. Howard had four 30+ scoring games during the season with three coming against top-25 ranked teams.
One of her best performances of the year was when she scored 33 points at No. 12 Mississippi State, hitting four 3s with 10 rebounds and six assists. She scored 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime against the Bulldogs, scoring 25 of UK's last 31 points, including 10 of 14 in overtime. Other impressive performances on the biggest stage include 32 points with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals against No. 5 South Carolina and 24 points with four 3s, 10 rebounds and four assists against No. 10 Arkansas. She also posted 22 points against No. 13 Indiana and at No. 8 Texas A&M. Howard took over for Kentucky at No. 17 Georgia with 27 points, four rebounds, four steals, two assists and went 4-of-4 from 3 and then followed with a 33-point performance against the Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament.
Howard's career is already one of the best in program history. In 98 career games, Howard has hit at least one 3 in 84 games, posted 10 or more points in 87 career games, 15+ in 71 games, 20+ in 53 games, 25+ in 28 games and 30+ in eight games. The guard has led UK in scoring in 63 career games, in rebounding in 51 career games, in assists in 36 career games, in steals in 42 games and blocks in 39 career games. She has 21 career double-doubles.
For her career, Howard has scored 1,948 career points sitting third in UK history in points scored. She needs 68 more to tie A’dia Mathies for second. Howard ranks second in school history in career scoring average at 19.9, while she is fifth in field-goals made with 680, third in career 3s made with 236 and fourth in career 3-point field-goal percentage at 37.2. She is also fourth in UK history in steals per game at 2.387.