Backing up their No. 6 ranking, the Mississippi State Bulldogs proved to be too much too handle for Ole Miss Thursday night, downing the Rebels 80-66.
While the Bulldogs continue their quest for a championship, Ole Miss head coach Yolette McPhee-McCuin is working to change the culture inside the Rebels’ program after winning just one game in the SEC last year. Upsetting Mississippi State would have been a huge achievement, but it was not a realistic expectation coming into the game.
However, the Rebels did take some big strides in their performance after an 80-49 drubbing in January suffered at the hands of the Bulldogs.
Mimi Reid was a spark for the Rebels early, scoring seven of the Rebels’ first 12 points to open the game. The first quarter was tight with neither team holding more than a four-point lead. Shandrika Sessom capped off the opening 10 minutes with a corner three cutting the Bulldogs’ lead to 16-15 heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter belonged to the Bulldogs as Ole Miss was searching for an answer to stop Teaira McCowan inside. The 6-foot-7 center, who entered the game averaging 16.8 points and 13.6 rebounds per game, collected her 22nd double-double of the season in the first half of play. McCowan’s strong play inside paced the Bulldogs with 13 points and 10 rebounds at the half.
The Rebels scratched and clawed to keep the game within reach trailing 37-29 at the break behind 11 first half points from the freshman Reid.
Mississippi State pulled away late in the third quarter as they found their shooting stroke, connecting on 8-of-11 from the floor and carrying a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs kept the Rebels out of reach leading by no less than 13 points in the final 10 minutes despite Crystal Allen’s efforts. Allen finished with 29 points, 24 of which came in the second half on the heels of 8-for-8 shooting.
“I knew from the jump I had to do whatever it took for us to get a win. That’s the goal every game that we play. No matter who we play, we always want to win and we always want to play hard,” Allen said.
The Rebels did a good job bottling up McCowan in the second half holding her to just two points in the final 20 minutes. McCowan finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds on the night.
“She is a phenomenal player,” McPhee-McCuin said of McCowan. “I don’t know if there is anybody more dominant than her in the league. For us to (contain her) is definitely something that we are proud of.”
Mississippi State’s second ranked offense, which averages 87.6 points per game, had no problem picking up the preseason All-American’s slack. Anriel Howard led the way for the Bulldogs, dropping 21 points and snatching 10 rebounds.
Jordan Danberry followed up with 20 points of her own, while Bre’Amber Scott rounded out the Bulldogs’ scoring, finishing in double figures with 11 points.
“When you play a team like that, you have to have your best game with no mistakes and we weren’t able to do that when we needed to,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Overall I thought we did our university proud. I’m not using it as a moral victory, it’s just a step in the right direction.”
The Rebels are back in action as they travel to Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks on Sunday at 3 p.m. Ole Miss will aim to push the Razorbacks losing streak to seven after they fell to Georgia Thursday night.
