Ole Miss women’s basketball pounds A&M on the road, 80-63
Ole Miss women’s basketball continued its winning ways as the Rebels defeated A&M at Reed Arena in College Station, 80-63, Thursday night to move to 16-2 overall and 4-1 in SEC play.
This is the first road victory over A&M in program history for Ole Miss, and the team is now off to its best start in league play since the Rebels’ 2009-2010 season.
Coach Yo: "Really proud of our team. I challenged them to come out and show the basketball world we should be in the conversation…" #HottyToddy
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) January 21, 2022
Ole Miss finished with five players in double figures. The Rebels were led by Lashonda Monk who scored 16 points in what was her third start of the season. This marks the fifth-straight game Monk has finished in double figures.
After the game, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin was asked about Monk’s play.
“If I could clone (Lashonda) Monk, I would. She’s such an important piece of our success. Her competitive nature…she has a toughness she brings that our team feeds off…She’s really been a blessing.“
Coach Yo on Lashonda Monk
Angel Baker scored 15 points and was 3-6 from beyond the arc. She grabbed five rebounds. Shakira Austin added 11 points, tallied eight rebounds and totaled four rejections as she continues to dominate the game.
The Rebels’ defense was suffocating and led to 25 points off of 17 Texas A&M (11-7, 1-5 SEC) turnovers. Ole Miss, on the other hand, committed a season-low six turnovers.
“Our defense is the engine to our offense. The more stops we get, the more possessions on offense we will get…When we are playing defense at a high level, our offense will complement it.“
The Rebels took a 47-34 lead into the half, with the 28 second-quarter points marking the most in a quarter this season for Ole Miss in SEC play.
The Rebels continued to attack in the third quarter, going on a 16-2 run to start the period. The Ole Miss defense held A&M to 2-of-12 from the floor during that stretch.
Coach Yo: "We won that 3rd quarter, 19-6, and I wanted us to do it from the defensive end. I challenged them to do that at halftime and I thought they responded."
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) January 21, 2022
Next Up:
The Rebels continue their road swing with a visit to No. 23 Kentucky in Rupp Arena Sunday. This will be the third ranked opponent of the season for Ole Miss. Tipoff against the Wildcats is set for 11 a.m. CT, airing nationally on SEC Network.
Coach Yo: "We have a long way to go and we're going to just keep chopping wood. I do know that we have something special. I don't think we're playing our best basketball yet. We know if we are going to be a tournament team, we're going to have to win some on the road…"
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) January 21, 2022
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
