# 2021–22 Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team

The 2021–22 Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by second-year head coach Kyra Elzy, played most of their home games at Memorial Coliseum and two at Rupp Arena and competed as members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
In the January 27 loss to Vanderbilt, senior guard Rhyne Howard scored the 2,000th point of her college career. Howard became the third Wildcat to reach that benchmark.

## Previous season

The 2020–21 Wildcats finished the season 18–9 (9–6 SEC) to finish tied for fifth place in the conference. The Wildcats were invited to the 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament where they defeated Idaho State in the first round before losing to Iowa in the second round.

## Offseason
### Departures

Kentucky departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| KeKe McKinney | 3 | F | 6'1" | Senior | Knoxville, TN | Transferred to Charlotte |
| Tatyana Wyatt | 14 | F | 6'2" | Senior | Columbus, GA | Graduated |
| Chasity Patterson | 15 | G | 5'5" | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Erin Toller | 20 | G | 5'7" | Freshman | Louisville, KY | Dismissed from team |
| Kameron Roach | 23 | G | 5'6" | RS Junior | Hopkins, SC | Transferred to Charlotte |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Jada Walker G | Richmond, VA | Henrico HS | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| Kristen Crenshaw-Gill G | Youngstown, OH | Valley Christian School | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 4, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | No. 13 | Lee | W 95–51 | | 21 – Edwards | 8 – Edwards | 7 – Massengill | Memorial Coliseum (1,505) Lexington, KY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., SECN+ | No. 13 | Presbyterian | W 81–53 | 1–0 | 20 – Edwards | 9 – Hunt | 7 – tied | Memorial Coliseum (3,321) Lexington, KY |
| November 11, 2021* 7:00 p.m., SECN+ | No. 13 | North Alabama | W 98–56 | 2–0 | 27 – Edwards | 10 – tied | 5 – Walker | Memorial Coliseum (3,444) Lexington, KY |
| November 14, 2021* 5:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 13 | at No. 8 Indiana Rivalry | L 67–88 | 2–1 | 23 – Howard | 9 – Howard | 2 – tied | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (5,394) Bloomington, IN |
| November 21, 2021* 2:00 p.m., SECN+ | No. 19 | Winthrop | W 92–47 | 3–1 | 22 – Howard | 10 – Howard | 10 – Howard | Memorial Coliseum (3,587) Lexington, KY |
| November 27, 2021* 8:30 p.m., SECN+ | No. 20 | La Salle | W 74–52 | 4–1 | 22 – Edwards | 11 – Edwards | 7 – Massengill | Memorial Coliseum (3,383) Lexington, KY |
| December 1, 2021* 7:00 p.m., SECN+ | No. 16 | West Virginia Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 83–60 | 5–1 | 27 – Howard | 10 – Edwards | 9 – Massengill | Memorial Coliseum (3,587) Lexington, KY |
| December 5, 2021* 2:00 p.m., SECN+ | No. 16 | Merrimack | W 90–56 | 6–1 | 21 – Howard | 11 – Edwards | 8 – Massengill | Memorial Coliseum (3,541) Lexington, KY |
| December 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., SECN | No. 14 | DePaul | L 85–94 | 6–2 | 22 – Benton | 7 – tied | 5 – Massengill | Rupp Arena (4,906) Lexington, KY |
| December 12, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 14 | at No. 7 Louisville Rivalry / Jimmy V Classic | L 58–64 | 6–3 | 14 – tied | 14 – Edwards | 4 – Edwards | KFC Yum! Center (12,167) Louisville, KY |
| December 17, 2021* 7:00 p.m., SECN+ | No. 19 | Morgan State | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY |
| December 19, 2021* 2:00 p.m., SECN+ | No. 19 | USC Upstate | W 67–44 | 7–3 | 22 – Howard | 12 – Edwards | 4 – tied | Memorial Coliseum (3,521) Lexington, KY |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| January 6, 2022 7:00 p.m., SECN+ | No. 21 | No. 15 Georgia | W 84–76 | 8–3 (1–0) | 30 – Howard | 6 – Edwards | 5 – Edwards | Memorial Coliseum (3,013) Lexington, KY |
| January 9, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 21 | at No. 1 South Carolina | L 54–74 | 8–4 (1–1) | 11 – Benton | 8 – Howard | 6 – Howard | Colonial Life Arena (12,327) Columbia, SC |
| January 16, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 19 | at No. 5 Tennessee Rivalry | L 58–84 | 8–5 (1–2) | 24 – Howard | 6 – tied | 3 – Howard | Thompson–Boling Arena (10,012) Knoxville, TN |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 p.m., SECN | No. 23 | Florida | L 52–77 | 8–6 (1–3) | 17 – Howard | 10 – Howard | 3 – Howard | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY |
| January 23, 2022 7:00 p.m., SECN | No. 23 | Ole Miss | L 54–63 | 8–7 (1–4) | 24 – Howard | 10 – Howard | 2 – Massengill | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| January 25, 2022 8:00 p.m., SECN+ | | at Auburn | W 67–55 | 9–7 (2–4) | 29 – Howard | 9 – Howard | 4 – Massengill | Auburn Arena (1,780) Auburn, AL |
| January 27, 2021 8:00 p.m. | | at Vanderbilt | L 57–65 | 9–8 (2–5) | 25 – Howard | 10 – Howard | 6 – Massengill | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN |
| January 30, 2021 2:00 p.m., SECN | | at No. 12 LSU | L 69–78 | 9–9 (2–6) | 23 – Howard | 12 – Howard | 3 – tied | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (8,734) Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 6, 2022 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Texas A&M | L 64–73 $^{OT}$ | 9–10 (2–7) | 19 – Howard | 10 – tied | 5 – Massengill | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY |
| February 10, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | South Carolina | L 50–59 | 9–11 (2–8) | 21 – Howard | 9 – Howard | 4 – tied | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY |
| February 13, 2021 2:00 p.m., SECN | | at Alabama | W 67–63 | 10–11 (3–8) | 24 – Edwards | 9 – Howard | 5 – Massengill | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL |
| February 15, 2022 5:00 p.m., SECN+ | | Mississippi State Rescheduled from January 3 | W 81–74 | 11–11 (4–8) | 23 – Edwards | 11 – Howard | 6 – Howard | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 p.m., SECN+ | | Vanderbilt | W 69–65 | 12–11 (5–8) | 20 – Edwards | 7 – Edwards | 9 – Massengill | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY |
| February 20, 2021 2:00 p.m., SECN | | at Arkansas | W 78–55 | 13–11 (6–8) | 29 – Howard | 13 – Edwards | 3 – Edwards | Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR |
| February 24, 2021 8:00 p.m., SECN+ | | at Missouri | W 78–63 | 14–11 (7–8) | 30 – Edwards | 12 – Howard | 7 – Massengill | Mizzou Arena Columbia, MO |
| February 27, 2022 4:00 p.m., SECN | | Auburn | W 90–62 | 15–11 (8–8) | 32 – Howard | 9 – Walker | 10 – Massengill | Memorial Coliseum (5,268) Lexington, KY |
| SEC tournament |||||||||
| March 3, 2022 7:00 p.m., SECN | (7) | vs. (10) Mississippi State Second round | W 83–67 | 16–11 | 21 – Walker | 14 – Edwards | 7 – Massengill | Bridgestone Arena (6,500) Nashville, TN |
| March 4, 2022 7:00 p.m., SECN | (7) | vs. (2) No. 6 LSU Quarterfinals | W 78–63 | 17–11 | 32 – Howard | 10 – Edwards | 8 – Massengill | Bridgestone Arena (7,704) Nashville, TN |
| March 5, 2022 7:30 p.m., ESPNU | (7) | vs. (3) No. 18 Tennessee Semifinals / Rivalry | W 83–74 | 18–11 | 24 – Howard | 9 – Howard | 7 – Howard | Bridgestone Arena (9,072) Nashville, TN |
| March 6, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN | (7) | vs. (1) No. 1 South Carolina Championship | W 64–62 | 19–11 | 27 – Edwards | 9 – Edwards | 6 – Massengill | Bridgestone Arena (7,997) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 19, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN | (6 B) No. 15 | vs. (11 B) No. 25 Princeton First round | L 62–69 | 19–12 | 17 – Howard | 12 – Edwards | 3 – tied | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (6,389) Bloomington, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||