No. 4 seed Ole Miss showcased why they are a team to be reckoned with as they put out the flames of a hot No. 13 seed Texas A&M team in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday afternoon.
The Aggies were one of the first teams with a seed of 13 or lower to play in the quarterfinals game and were looking for their special magic to propel them forward, but ran into Ole Miss and their suffocating defense.
The Rebels have only allowed opponents to score an average of 55 points per game. Texas A&M has scored over 70 points in their last two games but the Rebels held them to just 60.
The Rebels relied on good offense and defense to create separation against the Aggies.
The opportunistic Rebels forced 22 turnovers and 12 steals against Texas A&M.
The offense put on one of their best and efficient performances of the year including an all-star performance by Angel Baker who led the team with 23 points shooting at 83% (10-for-12) from the floor.. Baker also recorded five rebounds and two assists.
Along with Baker’s stellar performance, three other players scored double-digit points including Madison Scott (16), Marquesha Davis (14) and Elauna Eaton (11).
Scott led the team in rebounds with eight and Rita Igbokwe was second on the team with seven.
Throughout the first and early second quarter, Ole Miss was in a hard-fought battle against Texas A&M as the Rebels led by as little as one point in the second quarter with 9:43 left. Ole Miss eventually closed out the half with a lead of 40-29 and never looked back.
The Rebels will be looking to avenge a 57-64 OT loss to No. 1 South Carolina in the highly anticipated rematch from Feb. 19.
This will also be a rematch of the semifinal game from last season where the Rebels came up short 51-61.
Tip-off will be on Saturday, March 4 3:30 p.m. CST on ESPNU.
