No. 4 Ole Miss (22-7) defeated No. 5 Florida (21-9) 70-60 to advance to the semi-finals in the SEC tournament. This is the first time the Rebels will be in the SEC tournament semifinals since 1993 and are looking to continue to run the table under fourth year head coach Yollet Mcphee-Mccuin.
The Rebels shot effectively from the field, shooting right at 40% and shot 76% from the free throw line, which is just about under their season average. The Rebels needed everything from senior center Sharkia Austin to help push them over the top against a resilient Florida Gators squad.
Austin, a current two-time All-SEC performer and Lisa Leslie Award finalist, got the Rebels off to a good start. Within the first 15 minutes of the game, Austin showed her dominance as she scored 14 points in the first half. She ended the game with 27 points and shooting 62%.
Austin also led the team in rebounds with 13, getting her 10th double-double of the season. The Rebels controlled the glass for the entire game, out-rebounding Florida 41-38. Sophomore forward Madison Scott came second in the game with nine rebounds.
Ole Miss’s defense is the driving force behind the team’s success, but transitional defense and lack of three-point shots is what caused them to put the game in jeopardy.
The team played hellacious defense, forcing Florida to shoot 33% thanks to half court press and a mixture of man and zone defense throughout the course of the game. This is the 26th time this season that they have held an opponent under 70 points.
Florida went on a slew of runs in the second half, led by guard Ziggy Broughton, who had 26 points. Broughton came alive in the second half by shooting three three-pointers in the second half and leading the Gators to multiple scoring drives that would keep the game within four points. At one time, Florida was trailing by a point with less than two minutes in the third quarter.
The Rebels were finally able to regain control of the game and stopped Florida when it mattered the most.
The drawback is that Florida was able to go on these runs because of the lack of transition defense in the game, something that Coach Yo will have to fix before they take on the No. 1 team in the country, South Carolina, on Saturday.
Ole Miss will advance to face off against No. 1 South Carolina, Saturday at 4 p.m. CST on ESPNU. This will be the third matchup between both teams during the season, both times the Rebels fell short to the Gamecocks, most recently in a Sunday matchup on Feb. 27 where Ole Miss fell short 57-71.
