Ole Miss Women’s Basketball hosted the Vanderbilt Lady Commodores Jan. 30 in Birmingham, Ala. The Lady Rebels won the close contest 83-75. The game was supposed to be in Oxford, but winter storm conditions pushed it to Legacy Arena.
“The energy that we had today and the reason why we’re doing it – we’re doing it for the city of Oxford,” Christeen Iwuala said in a postgame interview. “We had a really rough patch. A really rough winter storm, so we’re doing it for the city of Oxford.”
Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin spoke about playing despite the winter storm conditions in her postgame press conference.
“I told the team that this needed to be our way to show that we’re fighting alongside the people that are still there. The linemen and women that are there and our county – the people,” McPhee-McCuin said. “We’re lifting them up and wanted to try to bring them some joy.”
Since Vanderbilt is one of the top offenses in the country, whereas the Lady Rebels are marked by a top defense, this matchup was extra dynamic.
Ole Miss took control of the game’s pace in the first quarter. While Vanderbilt plays a quick, fast paced game, Ole Miss favors slowing the game down. The first few minutes were a quick, back and forth few drives, but the Lady Rebels grabbed control, and slowed it down.
The Ole Miss defense came to life, and shined like it is known to do. In the first half alone, there were 21 rebounds, 10 which came from Iwuala. She also had three steals in the first half. Her teammates added seven.
The Lady Rebels led at the half 44-25, but in the SEC, no lead is ever enough. Vanderbilt came back in the second half, and immediately jumped to a 9-2 scoring run. The Commodores cut the score back into single digits by the middle of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was close, but the Lady Rebels held firm. Iwuala capped the game off with a huge block on Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes’ jump shot, followed by Kaitlin Peterson’s win-clinching rebound.
Cotie McMahon, once again, was the star of the offense. Even in the Commodores’ attempt to shut her down, she still totaled 27 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Alongside McMahon, Iwuala scored 18 points, Latasha Lattimore put up 12 and Peterson added 11. The Lady Rebels have many offensive weapons, which will be crucial for depth down the stretch and when teams attempt to shut down McMahon.
The Rebels have now won six straight over Vanderbilt, and look to pursue their climb to the top of the rankings.
What’s next?
The Lady Rebels will host the Auburn Tigers in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m.
