The Ole Miss Lady Rebels went into their first game of the SEC tournament ranked as the third seed – their highest seed in the conference tournament since the 1990s; they faced off against the 11th seeded Florida Lady Gators, beating them 84-74.
This game went down to the wire, with the Ole Miss Rebels barely squeaking out the 10-point win. Rebel guard Marquesha Davis led the team in points with 33 points in an impressive showing to lift her team to the semifinals. Ole Miss closed things out on a 12-0 ru to secure this one and move on to meet LSU, who throttled Auburn in their quarterfinal matchup.
First half:
The game started out in a way that would instantly indicate a four-quarter battle. Both teams were scoring, but the Rebels were struggling from the field. What kept Ole Miss in the game was their ability to rebound the ball; it just seemed like each long rebound went in favor of the Lady Rebels and that all short ones simply fell right into their hands.
A problem arose, though, as Ole Miss guard Kennedy Todd-Williams had two fouls almost halfway through the first quarter, effectively benching herself for the rest of the half.
This is right about when the Lady Rebel’s offense began to struggle. Their only saving grace was the fact that the team’s defense was on point per usual. The glaring problem was foul trouble, as the Lady Gators were already in the bonus by the end of the first, which slowed the pace of play in favor of Florida. The Rebels ended the quarter down by six.
Ole Miss started to make a comeback of sorts to begin the second quarter, completely halting the Gator offense while being consistent on the offensive side themselves. Both teams went back and forth to close out the half; however, neither team could pull away, as both teams would put up either really good offense or staggering defense.
The leading scorer of the half was Ole Miss’ Davis, who had 14 points to close the second quarter. The Rebels went into the half down one with a score of 37-36.
Second half:
The second half started out in favor of the Lady Gators. The Rebels looked sluggish, giving away the basketball on multiple occasions. Still, Davis continued to be the motor for this team on both ends of the floor. Once again, the defense was there, but the offense lacked any substance.
Ole Miss took one of its first leads of the night, ending the third quarter on a 13-5 run. The team looked as if they were ready to close out the game, however, they were only up by two points, so there was work to be done.
The Lady Gators quickly retook the lead to start the fourth quarter, and the Rebels had to once again work from behind. Ole Miss retook the lead on the back of Davis, who put on a scoring clinic in the fourth quarter.
The game was looking more and more like it would come down to whoever had the ball last. Ole Miss guard/forward Madison Scott had a huge and-one opportunity with less than two minutes left in the game, swinging all available momentum in favor of the Lady Rebels.
The Lady Gators had to resort to the foul game, and Ole Miss kept knocking down its free throws, silencing any rumblings of a quarterfinal upset.
Weird stat of the game
This is the first time the Ole Miss Rebels have beaten a team three times in a season since 1991 – the Lady Rebels beat Mississippi State three times in that season.
What’s next?
The Ole Miss Lady Rebels have a date with the LSU Lady Tigers on Saturday, March 9, at 6 p.m. CT for a chance at a spot in the SEC Championship game.
