The Ole Miss Women’s Basketball team traveled to the University of Missouri to take on the Tigers on Monday, Feb. 26. The Lady Rebels went to the Mizzou Arena on the heels of a major win over the Georgia Bulldogs at home on Thursday, Feb. 22, defeating them 73-51. In Columbia, Mo., the Rebels won 66-45, absolutely dominating all aspects of the game.
Ole Miss went into this game standing at 19-7 overall, 9-4 in the SEC and third in the conference. With this win, Ole Miss secured at least a top-four finish heading into the SEC Tournament, which is a big weight off of their shoulders moving forward.
Missouri, on the other hand, came into this game last in the conference with a record of 11-15 overall and 2-11 in the SEC. They also came into the game having lost their last eight games in a row.
Once again, Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and her Rebels proved to be fierce competitors as they secured this confidence-building win.
Offensive MVP: Snudda Collins
Despite seeing the court for only 17 minutes, Forward Snudda Collins meant business when she came out to play. Collins had four three-pointers and 14 total points, as well as one defensive rebound and an assist to help her team in this win.
Collins had not played in the last couple of games due to an injury, making her stats for tonight even more impressive.
Defensive MVP(s): The entire defensive team
While Collins was a standout tonight offensively, the entire team put up an intense fight defensively. All of the starters had at least one defensive rebound, and together they held Missouri under 50 points. In total, the Lady Rebels had 24 defensive rebounds, which made a win feel far out of reach for the Tigers the entire time.
Needs improvement: turnovers, fouls and three-point shooting
Even though they secured a blowout win, the Rebels still struggled with turnovers and three-point shooting throughout the game. They had 12 turnovers in total, which is more than their previous game against Georgia.
While their three-point shooting percentage was higher in this one — 35.7% — than it was against the Bulldogs, it could still be improved upon. A higher three-point shooting percentage would certainly help the Rebels heading into the SEC Tournament and March Madness.
The Rebels also had a large amount of personal fouls, gathering a total of 24 in this game. Reducing personal fouls will keep players on the court, thus bolstering the team’s offensive and defensive longevity.
What’s next?
There are only two games left of the regular season, and the Lady Rebels will stay on the road to travel to play their final away game of the season at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29, against the University of Kentucky.
