The Ole Miss Women’s Basketball team is heading to the Sweet 16 in Spokane, Wa. to face No. 1 UCLA at Spokane Arena on Friday, March 28.
The Rebels beat the Baylor Bears 69-63 in the Second Round in Waco, Texas on Sunday, March 23 to advance in the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss most recently played in the Sweet 16 in 2023, after their upset win over No. 1 Stanford in the Second Round.
Freshman sensation Sira Thienou led the way with 16 points and six rebounds. KK Deans and Madison Scott were both in the double digits with 13 and 14 points, respectively.
First half
The Rebels showed aggression as early as halfway through the first quarter. The Ole Miss defense was excellent, causing six turnovers in the first quarter. The Bears were keeping up with the Rebels but unable to get ahead of them for most of the first.
The first quarter ended with a four-point lead for the Rebels. Ole Miss went the entire quarter without making a three-point basket.
In the second quarter, the game got messy as both teams committed a lot of turnovers but couldn’t convert on any of them. Ole Miss started to lose a bit of momentum, and the Baylor defense stepped up its game.
The Rebels still have not made a three-pointer. Scoring came at a premium in the second quarter with Ole Miss going 0-6 at a point from the field. Baylor took the lead with less than a minute left to go in the half.
The Rebels went into the half down three, their first deficit of the game.
Second half
The second half started with Baylor pushing their lead. Ole Miss kept it close, but they couldn’t recapture what worked for them in the first quarter. The Rebels tied it up with both teams making threes, something that was absent in the first half.
The game was back-and-forth for the rest of the third quarter with the Rebels being unable to take their lead back. The game was tied heading into the fourth quarter.
Finally, Ole Miss took a lead in the fourth quarter and didn’t look back. They held a four-point margin, and their offense slowly came back to life.
With a minute left, the game was tied at 61. The final four seconds were exciting, as Ole Miss held a two-point lead when the Bears started intentionally fouling to preserve time.
Clutch free throws from KK Deans all but sealed the game. The Rebels won 69-63.
Who’s next
Ole Miss moves on to play the winner of UCLA and Richmond. A date and time has yet to be determined.
