The third quarter of play doomed Ole Miss women’s basketball for the second time in four days.
The No. 20 ranked Texas A&M Aggies took an 18-6 third quarter and never looked back, after trailing by three at halftime. They defeated Ole Miss 72-60 on Sunday. The loss is the fourth in a row for the Rebels and the seventh-straight win for Texas A&M.
“I thought we had a valiant effort from our group,” head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “When you get to February, it is about resilience, toughness and grit. When Texas A&M needed it, they got it from some special players. I thought that was the difference in the game, and we have a lot to build on for the future.”
The Rebels committed 17 turnovers, including nine in the third quarter, and scored only six points off of Aggie turnovers. The Aggies scored 19 points off of turnovers.
The Rebels also shot 28 percent in the second half after shooting 44 percent in the first half.
“We just have to face our fears. That is the word on us: We can’t handle pressure. We went on a run where we couldn’t score and we couldn’t get stops,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I thought we got a little stagnant. Our spacing was horrific.”
Ole Miss had three players scoring double figures. Shandricka Sessom led the team with 17 points, shooting 5-7 from the three point line. Jhileiya Dunlap scored 14 points, most of which provided a spark near the end of the first half. La’Karis Salter added 12 points.
McPhee-McCuin was quick to point out that the team could not rely on just a few players
“My group is always waiting on someone else to do it instead of understanding that they have to do it together,” McPhee-McCuin said. “When you looked at the box score against Florida, you can see that it was everybody.”
The Aggies had a big cushion from the free throw line. They made 23 of 27 free throws while Ole Miss made 8 of 15.
“We have got to stop fouling. That is something that we have preached. That is just a discipline thing right now,” McPhee-McCuin said. “If you cut those numbers in half, then it is a different ballgame. It is frustrating because we can control some of those things.”
Crystal Allen came off the bench in this game and played 21 minutes. The second leading scorer in the SEC was held to three total points, all from the free throw line, lowering her season average of 18.1 points per game to an average of 17.4. Her 47-straight free throw streak, which led the NCAA, was halted in the second half.
The Rebels will travel to South Carolina on Thursday before hosting Vanderbilt on Feb. 14.
