KK Deans drives to the basket against Oklahoma in the Pavillion on Nov. 9, 2023. Photo by Maria Ramirez.

After a shaky start, the Ole Miss Rebels defeated Delaware State 80-42.

The leading scorer for the Lady Rebels was Starr Jacobs, who gathered 18 points, six rebounds and two assists. Ole Miss had four players enter double digits with Madison Scott, Kennedy Todd-Williams and Sira Thienou all finishing with 13 points.

First half

Delaware State drew first blood with the Lady Rebels missing their first two shots from the field; they did make their third. Both teams struggled to score early. Jacobs shot the Rebels’ first free throws of the game, missing both attempts.

As the game neared the halfway point of the first quarter, Ole Miss was up 5-2. Ayanna Thompson made the Rebels’ first three-pointer, but Delaware State took it right back with one of their own. Ole Miss ended the first quarter with a 13-9 lead.

The Rebels continued to get their own rebounds in the second quarter, but they could not capitalize. Halfway through the second quarter, the Lady Rebels held a slim 22-19 lead, with their problems in the first quarter still affecting them in the second. The Rebels started to get going with an 8-0 run, extending their lead and forcing Delaware State to call a timeout.

Todd-Williams, Scott and Thienou ended the half leading the team in points with eight, the Rebels led 37-21 going into the half.

Second half

The Rebels’ first score in the second half came from a three-pointer by KK Deans. Ole Miss’ talent advantage took effect as they held the Hornets scoreless to begin the second half, forcing them to take an early timeout. Todd-Williams knocked down another three-pointer to extend the lead to 12 points. Halfway through the third quarter, the Rebels held a 25-point lead, slowly pulling away.

The Rebels took advantage of Delaware State’s mistakes, scoring 23 points off of turnovers alone. Ole Miss went into the fourth quarter with a comfortable 58-32 lead.

Jacobs was the first to score in the final quarter, scoring off a rebound. With the game slowly starting to dwindle down to the halfway point in the fourth, Jacobs took over the final quarter, getting easy rebounds and scoring off of them. The fourth quarter came and went with the Rebels leading 71-34 at the midway point.

Ole Miss was working well as a team moving the ball around and easily scoring in the paint. The Rebels closed out the game with no difficulty, winning with a final score of 80-42.

Who’s next?

The Rebels move on to defend the Pavilion on Monday, Nov. 18 at 11 a.m.