Ole Miss Women’s Basketball welcomed the Oklahoma Sooners to the SJB Pavilion on Thursday night. In a soon to be conference matchup, the new look Lady Rebels would have their work cut out for them against a very tough Sooners squad.
As expected, early season play isn’t always the cleanest brand of basketball. The Lady Rebels committed 8 turnovers in the first half alone. These turnovers combined with a rough shooting stretch created a game that was too close for comfort. Nevertheless, the SJB Pavilion was electric, giving intense energy that was desperately needed.
Transfer guards KK Deans, Kennedy Todd-Williams and Marquesha Davis lit up the scoreboard, helping the home team end the first half with the lead. Their contributions helped take the pressure off of Ole Miss’ talented scorer Snudda Collins, who had a rough start to her night.
Freshman guard Marija Avlijas and sophomore forward Kharyssa Richardson wreaked havoc on the Sooners’ backcourt every single time they touched the floor. This echoes Coach Yo’s “We Defend,” philosophy that the entire team strives to follow. The Lady Rebels finished the contest with 8 steals, 18 forced turnovers, and held Oklahoma to an abysmal 22.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Sadly, defense alone could not carry Ole Miss to a win. The game began to slip away once the Sooners began to hit some extremely tough shots down the backstretch of the game, and the Lady Rebels simply had no answer.
Ole Miss Women’s basketball fell to Oklahoma 70-80, bringing their record to 1-1 on the season. Snudda Collins led Ole Miss in scoring with 15pts followed closely behind by Kenedy Todd-Williams’ 13pts.
Ole Miss Women’s Basketball will take on the Temple Owls in their next matchup. The game will be at the SJB Pavilion and will tip off at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
