Ole Miss women’s basketball survives a home thriller against Missouri, 68-66, on Senior Sunday
OXFORD, Miss. — Starr Jacobs was the star of Senior Sunday for the Ole Miss women’s basketball team as the Rebels took on Missouri, defeating the Tigers 68-66 at the SJB Pavilion. Jacobs finished with 22 points, shooting 69% from the field, and notched a team-high four steals.
“She is very valuable to what we do, and I think she deserves everything good, and we rode her today.”
Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on Starr Jacobs
The Rebels (18-8, 9-5, SEC) forced the Tigers (13-16, 2-12, SEC) into 22 turnovers, scoring 20 points off the miscues.
The Rebels’ five seniors were honored before the game started. Led by former McDonald’s All-American Madison Scott, Ole Miss also recognized KK Deans, Kennedy Todd-Williams, Starr Jacobs, and Tameiya Sadler.
After the game, Coach Yo talked about what this group means to the team and the program.
“This senior class has an opportunity to do something here that has never been done before, and I truly believe that. There are lessons in this that we can learn, I saw a lot of growth, there were moments that we could’ve broken, and we didn’t.“
Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on her seniors
After a defensive first quarter, the teams would end the period tied at 18. Ole Miss would go 0-4 from behind the arc in the first, and the Rebs’ struggles would continue in the second quarter.
With Scott picking up her fourth foul right before the half, and the Rebels shooting 5-16 in the second quarter and 0-3 from behind the arc, Ole Miss had major work to do to close the 40-30 Missouri lead at halftime.
“We’ve all been here before, being down ten is nothing for us, we needed to punch first, and we just had to come out and keep going.”
Ole Miss forward Starr Jacobs on the team’s mindset starting the second half
The veteran leaders took over for Ole Miss in the third quarter, as Deans would ignite the group with seven points and Jacobs with 11 points. Jacobs shot 100% from the field in the third quarter.
Outscoring Missouri 29-11 in the third quarter, Ole Miss would head into the fourth leading 59-51.
It was a back-and-forth fourth quarter as both teams aimed for wins as the end of the regular season approaches. Missouri continued to claw its way back into the game. Despite going 0-5 from behind the arc, the Tigers would shoot 70% from inside the three-point line, causing all types of troubles for the Ole Miss defense.
With a six-point lead with 2:57 left to play, Ole Miss would struggle to score for the remainder of the game. Missouri would go on a 5-0 run, forcing Coach Yo to call a timeout with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter.
As the clock continued to tick down, Missouri had an opportunity to take the lead with less than 15 seconds left. The Tigers, however, missed three layup opportunities in the closing seconds.
That gave Ole Miss a chance to extend its 67-66 lead with 9.9 seconds remaining. An inbound play would send Kennedy Todd-Williams to the line, but she would miss both free throws. However, a huge offensive rebound by Madison Scott would send the Rebels to the line, once again. Scott, too, missed both free throws, but yet again the ball would end up in the hands of Ole Miss. This time, KK Deans was at the line, and she converted the first free throw to give Ole Miss a 68-66 lead. Deans would miss the second one, giving Missouri one final opportunity to tie or win the game.
The Rebels’ defense forced Missouri into a tough shot and helped seal the ninth conference win of the season for Ole Miss, giving Coach Yo’s squad a boost of confidence for the team’s upcoming matchup against No. 6-ranked South Carolina.
“I have the utmost respect for Coach Staley, but I want to kick her butt. It’s at home and hopefully we have a great crowd and look forward to the opportunity.”
Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on the South Carolina matchup
Up Next
The game against the Gamecocks is set for this Thursday, February 27th, at 8:00 P.M. at the SJB Pavilion
Daylan Flowers
Daylan is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas and currently a junior Journalism major at Ole Miss with an emphasis in sports media and a minor in history. In addition to his work for The Rebel Walk, Daylan is the creator of 'The Daylan Show,' a podcast that shares stories from people all over the sports and media world. He is an avid Arsenal, Cowboys, and St.Louis Cardinals fan. Daylan has a strong passion for photography, including many sporting events and photoshoots.
