Gamer: Ole Miss women’s basketball falls to Oklahoma, 80-70
OXFORD, Miss. – Another hard-fought battle between the Ole Miss Rebels and Oklahoma Sooners saw an unexpected high scoring matchup end in a Sooner win over the No. 12 ranked Rebels, 80-70, in the SJB-Pavilion Thursday night.
1st Quarter
Madison Scott won the opening tip in the highly anticipated matchup, and the Rebels went to work on the offensive glass immediately. Ole Miss had eight rebounds in the first five minutes of the game, and five of those boards were on the offensive end.
Despite the Rebels’ struggles to get second-chance points off those boards, they still led 10-8 at the halfway mark of the first quarter as Florida transfer KK Deans scored five quick points as the game began.
KK for threeeeee 👌 pic.twitter.com/UVr4FCKTM9
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 10, 2023
The Sooners eventually battled back, taking a one-point lead late in the quarter for a brief moment before Marquesha Davis took matters into her own hands to give Ole Miss a 18-17 lead to end the quarter.
Deans led the way with seven for the Rebels as the rest of the squad struggled from the field. Ole Miss shot 5-19 in the quarter, scoring most of their points at the line, going 7-8.
Quarter 1 in the books! pic.twitter.com/UFLZRhejl8
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 10, 2023
2nd Quarter
Oklahoma took the lead back immediately in the second quarter, controlling the period from that point on until a late run from the Rebels.
The Sooners were winning the battle in the paint through the course of the quarter, an area in which the Rebels tend to see themselves dominate. That was not the case in the first half as Madison Scott, who typically dominates inside, could not buy a bucket in the half.
Scott was a non-factor tonight, really struggling to score inside where she usually dominates. The senior had just seven points on a 2 for 9 shooting night and four fouls. Coach Yo expressed postgame that she needs her star forward to show up.
“She didn’t show up and Maddie has to show up…It’s an uncharacteristic game for Maddie and right now she has to decide if she’s going to be someone that’s gonna show up all the time because her name is circled now…I’m confident that she will, I just have to figure out how to get her to do that.”
Coach Yo on Madison Scott
Snudda Collins scored 8 of her 9 points in the second as the senior continues to be that spark off the bench that Coach Yo is looking for. Collins drove to the basket as Ole Miss trailed, fighting through contact for the and-1 that seemed to begin the Rebels’ late run.
🗣️ AND ONE for @SnuddaC pic.twitter.com/RYVzI6F6Vj
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 10, 2023
Auburn transfer Kharyssa Richardson then hit a big three to give Ole Miss the lead back, allowing the Rebels to take a 39-38 lead into the half.
KHARYSSA FROM DEEEEP pic.twitter.com/yXlzYD61b6
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 10, 2023
Coach Yo explained in the postgame that she learned a lot about her team tonight and where they stand.
“Snudda (Collins) and Rich (Kharyssa Richardson) came off the bench, so maybe they should start. I learned a lot about my team in situations like this, and I’m actually grateful for it.”
Coach Yo after the loss to Oklahoma
Collins led the Rebels in scoring with nine at the break; however, a handful of Rebels had seven or more including Deans, Davis and Kennedy Todd-Williams. A noticeable stat for Ole Miss going into the break was having just one assist as a team.
3rd Quarter
It seemed like Coach Yo may have made it a point at the half to calm the team down and get the team to move the ball on offense as, immediately, the Rebels notched seven points off assists with Deans recording two of them.
The Rebels continued to dominate on the boards, grabbing most of them on the offensive end with 15 of their 31 rebounds coming on that end of the floor. Unfortunately, Ole Miss could not seem to capitalize off the second chances with only eight second chance points on the night as the Sooners took their lead back, 54-56 with two and half minutes left in the quarter.
Collins commented postgame on the second chance struggles.
“We were rushing a lot on our shots, on the second chances. Just make sure in practice that we work on that, so that next time we can finish those.“
Snudda Collins
Ole Miss was outscored 24-18 in the third quarter, as it was the first time this season that they were trailing at the end of a quarter.
Collins and Scott had 11 of the 18 points for Ole Miss in the quarter. Coach Yo’s squad continued to battle on the glass on the offensive end as well; however, they still struggled to get shots to fall as they went 6-16 from the field in the quarter.
Snudda with the easy jumper 🤌
She now enters double figures with 11 points! pic.twitter.com/fkiqgiIZy1
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 10, 2023
4th Quarter
Trailing by five as the last quarter of play began, the Lady Rebs needed a spark. Unfortunately, the struggles for the Rebels continued as the Sooners began to pull away, extending their lead to double digits at times.
As a team, Ole Miss went 5-19 in the quarter and 1-8 from three as they just could not buy a bucket for nearly a four minute stretch in the middle of the fourth.
The story of the night was the Rebels’ inability to score off their offensive boards. Ole Miss grabbed 22 of their 45 rebounds on the offensive end, but only 12 points off those opportunities.
Ole Miss struggled significantly more from the field tonight than they did on Monday in the opener, shooting 32% from the field and just 24% from the 3-point line.
Snudda Collins led the Rebels in scoring on the night with 15 and KK Deans had an all-around stellar performance as well with 12 points 6 boards and 5 assists.
Coach Yo seemed more grateful for the chance to see how her team handled it rather than being frustrated with the loss.
“We have big goals and the big goals ain’t the Sweet 16, that’s over with now…So now we gotta get punched if we’re gonna get punched early so that we can fix those things, you know? Did I want the win? Of course, but it’s game two. Am I really gonna pack it up and just quit? Come on, I sat here after a 60-point loss before. I think we’re gonna be okay.”
Coach Yo on the loss
Takeaways
- 3-pointers continue to be a struggle
- Oklahoma found a way to take Madison Scott out of the game
- Only 10 assists on the night (just 1 in the first half)
- Great offensive rebounding, but showed an inability to capitalize on second chance opportunities
- Free-throw line improvements
- Rare defensive struggles in the paint
Up Next
The Rebels will be back in action next Wednesday night at 6:30 as they take on the Temple Owls with a chance to bounce back from the tough loss. The game will be televised on the SEC Network+.
Kameron Wicker
Kam is an undergraduate 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.
