The Ole Miss Lady Rebels traveled to Athens, Ga., on Jan. 18 to face the Georgia Lady Bulldogs. Georgia won handedly, 82-59, over the Lady Rebels.
The Lady Rebels got into a lull early in the first quarter despite getting on the board first. Ole Miss was 4-of-19 shooting and struggled to get a defensive stop. Georgia led by 10 points at the end of the first quarter.
Ole Miss allowed the Lady Bulldogs too many open looks at the goal, and were ineffective at getting second chance shots as a result of Georgia’s 18 defensive rebounds.
Dani Carnegie and Trinity Turner, Georgia forwards, were a two headed monster. In the first half, the pair combined for 29 points.
At the half, the Lady Rebels trailed 42-27. Georgia was undefeated when leading at the half this season. However, this Lady Rebel team is known for being a second half team, and a team that fights until the end.
Out of the half, Ole Miss slowly began to find a rhythm on defense by slowing down Georgia’s fast paced offense, but they were still unable to get the majority of their shots to fall.
Even with the Lady Rebel defense stepping up, they were still outscored 20-11 in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was the first quarter where the Lady Rebels actually scored more points than the Bulldogs, but their 21 points were not enough to pull off a win. Ole Miss still allowed Georgia to score 20 points, which basically left them right where they were before the offensive breakthrough.
This was an uncharacteristic showing by the Lady Rebels who usually have numbers flying all over the board. Christeen Iwuala was the leading scorer with 13, and Sira Thienou followed with 12. Cotie McMahon, who is No. 6 in the SEC for points per game, was held to just nine.
What’s next?
The Lady Rebels look to bounce back against the Missouri Tigers on Jan. 22 in Colombia, Mo., at 6:30 PM. The game will air on SECN+.
