WATCH: Ole Miss women rally for Senior Day win over Missouri
The Ole Miss women’s basketball team rallied from a 10-point deficit Sunday against Missouri to pick up a critical, late-season win on Senior Day.
The Rebels honored their five seniors prior to tipoff, including forward Madison Scott, one of the most accomplished players in school history.
But the festivities didn’t get off to the best start. Missouri outscored Ole Miss, 22-12, in the final 10 minutes of the first half. The Rebels, though, used a 7-0 run in the opening minutes of the second to get back in it.
They ultimately scored 38 combined points in the third and fourth quarters for a 68-66 win.
“I’m grateful for the win, I’ll tell you that,” Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said in her postgame press conference. “Senior Day, for me, is always a gift and a curse because there’s so many emotions that go with it. You try to control your players’ energy, but there’s nothing you can do. They’ve got to play the game.
“I was really proud of the way we finished. Missouri’s record does not indicate how they are as a team. They had Tennessee down, they had Texas down. They’ve played everybody kind of like this. They’re just figuring out how to win games. I’m glad they couldn’t figure it out against us.”
Ole Miss entered play as a projected 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Rebels are vying for their fourth straight appearance. They improved to 18-8 (9-5 SEC) on the year with two games remaining.
Missouri fell to 13-16 (2-12). The comeback was the first for Ole Miss after trailing by double-digits in over two years.
“In the second quarter gave up 22 points and started playing stagnant and just losing our identity,” McPhee-McCuin said. “We miss 11 layups in the first half.
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“But in the third quarter we just went back to we’ve got to guard. We started to defend and ended up scoring 29 points to their 11. That was the difference in the game.”
Ole Miss forced 23 Missouri turnovers and recorded 14 steals, the most the Tigers have allowed this season.
The Rebels have 10 steals or more in 17 games this season.
Starr Jacobs scored a team-high 22 points on 9 for 13 from the field. She added four steals. Jacobs poured in 11 points and didn’t miss a shot in the third quarter. Ole Miss’ 29 points in the frame are the most Missouri has allowed this season by any opponent.
Christeen Iwuala chipped in 10 points and a Rebel-best seven rebounds. Sira Thienou became just the third Ole Miss freshman in history to record 70 steals in a season. She’s the first since all-time great Armintie Price in 2003-04.
Ole Miss next hosts No. 6 South Carolina on Thursday, February 27. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN.
“With the lineup being all seniors, I think we were just playing for each other, knowing this was a must-win,” Jacobs said afterwards. “Just being there, loving on each other and coming out on top.”
