Gamer: No. 19 Ole Miss women’s basketball falls to No. 22 Louisville, 64-58
OXFORD, Miss. — The annual SEC/ACC Challenge made its way to the SJB-Pavilion Wednesday night for a women’s basketball ranked rematch of last year’s Sweet Sixteen matchup between Ole Miss and Louisville. The No. 22 Cardinals took the victory over No. 19 Ole Miss, 64-58.
The No. 19 Rebs drop a battle to No. 22 Louisville.
We will be back in action on Saturday at Southern Miss. pic.twitter.com/R4MqO1EkR4
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 30, 2023
1st Quarter
The opening quarter of play was a defensive battle, to say the least.
The Rebels could not seem to get anything going on the offensive end in the first five minutes of the quarter and looked like they were really missing their graduate transfer point guard KK Deans, who suffered a season-ending injury in the tournament in the Bahamas.
Ole Miss began the game 3-for-9 from the field, turning the ball over 6 times in the quarter.
Snudda Collins had an outstanding night, scoring a game-high 22, but that was no consolation in the loss.
“I mean obviously I wanted the win. That really doesn’t mean anything. We took the loss, I just have to carry that energy to the next one and get the win.”
Snudda Collins on her 22 point performance
With Louisville leading 12-6 midway through the period, a media timeout allowed the Rebels to collect themselves and find some answers. Ole Miss went on an 8 to 2 run in the final 5 minutes of the quarter to end the first knotted at 14 with the Cardinals.
Kharyssa Richardson hit a couple of turn-around, fadeaway jumpers to get things going for the Rebels in those final five minutes and Collins subbed back in, scoring a quick 4 points herself.
Sheeeesh….@Kharyssa33 with the moves 💃 pic.twitter.com/tC1B4qTCX2
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 30, 2023
AND. ONE. 😤 pic.twitter.com/Nmb00CyakA
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 30, 2023
2nd Quarter
Defense from both teams continued to prove to be tough to score against to start the second quarter of play, as neither team could get on the box score until the Cardinals finally sank a shot three-and-a-half minutes into the quarter.
In the final four minutes of the first half, both the Cardinals and the Rebels began to trade baskets. Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin was given a technical foul for arguing her case on questionable foul calls, and this seemed to fire up the crowd and the team as a whole.
Freshman point guard Zakiya Stephenson gave the Rebels a spark off the bench on both ends of the floor. She hit Rita Igbokwe on a beautiful outlet pass down the court for a layup and later took one away from the Cardinals, taking the ‘rock’ the other way for a flashy finish on the other end.
DEFENSE ➡️ OFFENSE.@kiyamoney6 putting in WORK 😤 pic.twitter.com/ToUDuwlmJA
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 30, 2023
Coach Yo commented postgame on the play of her freshmen point guards.
“ Oh my god, my freshmen point guards. (Zakiya Stephenson and Marija Avlijas) I was so pumped for them. This is like their third or fourth true game, they’re gonna be fine. I’m really excited for them, this game was better for Zakiya, the Michigan game was better for Marija…but I thought they made some really tough plays.”
Coach Yo on the play of her freshmen point guards
The Rebels led 30-28 going into the half after their late first-half scoring outburst. Collins led the way for Ole Miss with 11 points, while Richardson and Tyia Singleton both had 4 points of their own as well.
3rd Quarter
After being as close to even as you can get through the first half, Louisville began to separate themselves from the Rebels in the third quarter. Despite their four made field goals, Ole Miss did not sink a shot from the field until the halfway point of the quarter.
Collins scored 8 of the Rebels’ 14 points in the quarter, giving her 19 on the night up to that point.
PSA: Feed @Snudda_C 🍴 pic.twitter.com/bO59AgRTEP
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 30, 2023
The story for Ole Miss’ struggles defensively proved to be fouling, as Louisville drew 9 fouls in the third quarter alone. The Rebels also had a rough night from the 3-point line, something that has been an issue all season for this team, as they were 1-for-10 from downtown by the end of the third.
4th Quarter
Needing to make something happen to get themselves and the crowd back into the game, Ole Miss looked to Marquesha Davis to start the third as she gave the Rebels six quick points in a 2-minute span.
Marquesha Davis is HER 🤯
Rebound ➡️ Score ➡️ And One. pic.twitter.com/Us8BJz5lqa
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 30, 2023
But just as Ole Miss seemed to catch some momentum, the Cardinals hit a big 3-pointer to increase their lead to 57-52, later sinking a pair of free ones at the line to increase their lead to 59-52 with just under 5 minutes remaining.
After Davis’ six quick points, the Rebels had trouble getting more buckets to fall as the Cardinals began to pull away. However, Collins hit a jumper and a free throw, followed by Davis hitting another tough shot to bring Ole Miss to within four.
But despite the late push, Louisville proved to be too much for the Rebels as the final horn sounded with a 64-58 Louisville victory.
Although going 4-for-5 from the free throw line in the first half, the Rebels went just 9-for-23 from the charity stripe in the second half, proving to be a huge difference in the outcome of this one.
Coach Yo opened her postgame press conference with a subtle laugh.
“Fifteen missed free throws, 2-for-12 in the 4th quarter. We out rebounded them, it was a chess match. Two-for-12 at the free throw line in the 4th quarter.”
Coach Yo on the Rebels’ free throw woes
Snudda Collins led the way in scoring for the Rebels with 22 as Davis added 12 and 6 boards for herself.
Up Next
Coach Yo and the Rebels will hit the road south to Hattiesburg for their next matchup on Saturday, December 2nd to take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Tipoff is set for 2 pm CT on ESPN+.
Kameron Wicker
Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.
