Ole Miss women’s basketball dominates Georgia in 73-51 win
OXFORD, Miss. – An aggressive defensive outing in the SJB Pavilion helped the Ole Miss women’s basketball team secure a huge 73-51 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs Thursday night.
Three straight DUBS against the Dawgs! 👌
A program best, now on to the NEXT. pic.twitter.com/ScD48M9MWX
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) February 23, 2024
First Half
Despite coming in sitting at the bottom of the SEC standings, Georgia started out firing on all cylinders, taking an early lead on the Rebels. Ole Miss struggled to shoot from the field to begin the game, shooting just 5 for 15 in the first quarter.
Eventually, Kennedy Todd-Williams began to heat up, knocking down a triple to bring the Rebels within one early on. Madison Scott also started to get involved in the action, helping Ole Miss close out the first with a two-point lead.
From behind the arc 👌 pic.twitter.com/lK2Afps9mC
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) February 23, 2024
Ole Miss went on an 11-0 run in the first four minutes of the second quarter, creating problems for the Bulldogs with their aggressive defense. Georgia had 11 turnovers heading into halftime and went just 1 for 9 from the field in the quarter while only scoring three total points.
“We didn’t even realize we held them to three points, that is when my team is locked in. I have been talking to them about being in a defensive trance throughout the whole game. Just wanting to get stops and having joy about it…we are on a mission. If we win three more games, that is 12 wins (in SEC play) and no one has ever done that here.”
~ Coach Yo on holding UGA to 3 points in the 2nd
Todd-Williams continued to rain shots down on the Bulldog defense throughout the second quarter, allowing Rita Igbokwe and Scott to go to work in the paint for the Rebels.
Got ’em with the hook shot 🪝 pic.twitter.com/Or0RpPTCxI
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) February 23, 2024
The Rebels took a 14-point lead into the halftime locker room, dominating the glass by not allowing Georgia to grab a single offensive board in the first half. Todd-Williams and Scott led the way for Ole Miss at the break, combing for 17 of 29 total points.
Scott commented on the second quarter scoring burst for the Rebels during the postgame.
“We just started playing Ole Miss Women’s Basketball the way we know how to play it. We have been talking about putting together 40 minutes of our type of basketball…we are finally getting closer and closer to putting together a complete, 4-quarter game.“
~ Madison Scott on the 2nd quarter scoring burst
Second Half
While Scott continued to prove to be too much to handle for the Bulldogs, Davis began to heat up as well. The senior guard scored seven quick points to begin the final half of play, giving the Rebels a huge 46-23 cushion.
FLEX ON ‘EM @IAMMADISCOTT pic.twitter.com/5R3OYiUW0y
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) February 23, 2024
The Ole Miss lead grew to as big as 24 points in the third quarter; however, just when it looked like the Rebels were going to run away with this one the Bulldogs began to crawl back into it. Georgia went on a 9-2 in the final three minutes of the quarter, gaining some momentum heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
However, the Rebels quickly returned the favor, taking back control by going on a 14-5 run five minutes into the final quarter of play. Similar to Scott in the first half, the Bulldogs did not have an answer for Davis in the second half.
Quick Que 💨 pic.twitter.com/EQAnIcezPP
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) February 23, 2024
Clinging to a 20+ point lead in the fourth, Coach Yo saw the opportunity to get her freshman some SEC minutes. Freshmen J’Adore Young and Mariyah Noel combined for 10 points in the second half while also adding more intensity to an already relentless Ole Miss defense.
I asked Coach Yo about her freshmen during the postgame and it was all praise to the players.
“Freshmen are always softer and kind of ‘cuddly,’ so we’ve been telling them to be violent around the rim…my freshmen are fearless, they may not know what they don’t know, but they ain’t scared of nothing. That is what I love about them. They went in and wanted to make their mark because they want to be a part of what we are doing here.“
~ Coach Yo on the freshmen performances tonight
Our freshman puttin’ in work 💪 @mariyah_noel pic.twitter.com/kYH9yGEr7U
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) February 23, 2024
Davis led the way for the Rebels with 20 points, 5 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Scott and Todd-Williams combined for 31 points as well.
Up Next
The Lady Rebels will hit the road for their next matchup to take on the Missouri Tigers on Monday, February 26th. Tipoff is set for 6 pm CT 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.
