LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky guard Rhyne Howard has been named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year for the second straight year.
Howard is the only power five conference player in the country averaging over 19 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game, with at least 40 steals and 70 assists. She leads the Wildcats in scoring, rebounding and assists.
The Cleveland, Tennessee native needs 10 points to tie Sarah Potts for ninth in UK scoring history, and is the second player in school history to reach 1,500 career points prior to her senior season.
A junior, Howard is just the third player in SEC history to earn two player of the year honors before their senior season. She joins A'dia Mathies as the only Kentucky women's basketball players to be named player of the year multiple times.
She was also named a semifinalist for the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's National Player of the Year.
Senior guard Chasity Patterson was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team after ranking in the top five nationally with 70 steals and top 15 with three steals per game. She is a semifinalist for the Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year.
Patterson became the third player in school history to score at least 30 points in a season opener. She is also the third player in program history to record 10 or more steals in a game.
Howard, Patterson and No. 17 Kentucky will return to action Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament. The Wildcats will play the winner of 13 seeded Auburn and 12th seeded Florida Thursday at 1 p.m.
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