No. 25 Rebels Unable to Complete Comeback against No. 14 LSU, Falling 68-64
OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) In a milestone setting night for Shakira Austin and Angel Baker, Ole Miss was unable to complete the comeback against one of the best offensive teams in the SEC, falling 68-64 from the SJB Pavilion Monday night. A slow start hindered RV/No. 25 Ole Miss (18-5, 6-4 SEC) as No. 14 LSU’s (19-4, 7-4 SEC) Khayla Pointer carried the Tigers with her second triple-double of the season. Angel Baker paced Ole Miss with 20 points for her third 20-point performance of the season to eclipse the 1,500-career point mark. With 11 points and eight rebounds, Shakira Austin also surpassed the mark as well.  Defensively, Madison Scott led the Rebels with a season-high 15 rebounds, one shy of her career-high. The bench was a huge factor for Ole Miss, accounting for half of the team’s points with 32. LSU took off on an 8-0 run after Ole Miss scored the first bucket of the game, yet the Rebels responded by locking it down to keep LSU without a basket for over three and a half minutes. A 7-0 Rebel run allowed Ole Miss to retake the lead. The Tigers then responded with a 6-0 run of their own to take the advantage through the end of the first quarter. Ole Miss struggled to reach the basket through the paint, limiting its scoring options. LSU remained a threat off the glass, outrebounding Ole Miss 27 to 17 through the first 20 minutes. Caitlin McGee broke the Rebel shooting woes with a second chance put back to ignite a 6-0 run and cut the deficit to four as LSU ultimately took a 27-23 lead into the break. Two straight buckets out of the gate in the third erased the deficit to tie things up at 27 all to kick off a high scoring quarter. LSU’s Pointer began to take command of the game with six straight points to lead a Tiger charge. Capitalizing off of Rebel turnovers, the Tigers were able to extend its lead by as many as 11. The Rebels battled to close another gap against the Tigers, as an 8-0 run off of hitting five out of seven shots brought Ole Miss within four with under 60 seconds remaining. LSU utilized the charity stripe to its advantage to pull away to take the 68-64 victory against the Rebels. Ole Miss remains idle this week until the Rebels head down the road to face off against in-state rival Mississippi State on Sunday (Feb. 13). The Rebels are set to square off against the Bulldogs at 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
