Ole Miss suffers tough road loss to No. 3 South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Ole Miss fell to No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball in a lopsided 85–48 road loss. South Carolina showed why it continues to be one of the nation’s elite teams, but Ole Miss’ own struggles ultimately defined the matchup.

First Quarter

Joyce Edwards started the game off with a basket for South Carolina. Latasha Lattimore quickly countered with a layup of her own for the Rebels. These teams were going back and forth on both ends of the court. Ole Miss needed to play like this to keep this game manageable. The Gamecocks led 8-6 with six minutes remaining.

Ole Miss went on a scoring drought, allowing South Carolina to score six points over two minutes. The Rebels were getting out-rebounded, and their early turnovers hurt them, leaving head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s team down 12-6 with 4:24 left in the quarter. Joyce Edwards was already a problem with eight points scored for the Gamecocks. Cotie McMahon had yet to score, and the Rebels would need her to win this game.

McMahon’s passing game was effective, as she found Lattimore to end the team’s nearly three-minute scoring drought. Lattimore had six points for the Rebels at this point. McMahon would sink two free throws to score for the first time with 2:10 remaining. Denim DeShields scored a quick layup, and the Rebels were fighting to stay in the game. South Carolina was holding a six-point lead at this point.

Christeen Iwuala scores with 28 seconds left to cut the Gamecocks’ lead to four. The Rebels were down 20-16 to end the first quarter.

Second Quarter

McMahon was on a bit of a cold streak at this point in the game. She had missed her first five shots. But the Rebels kept this a four-point game until Madina Okot hit a three-pointer, extending the Gamecocks’ lead to seven. With 7:09 remaining in the quarter, Ole Miss was down 27-20.

Ole Miss allowed a wide-open three-pointer by South Carolina that the Rebels could not defend, which put them down ten. The Rebels were struggling, giving up two back-to-back turnovers, which allowed the Gamecocks to score on both steals. The score was now 34-21 with 4:47 left to play in this quarter.

McMahon was 0-7 from the field, and her team was not rebounding and was allowing big-time offensive rebounds from South Carolina. The Gamecocks had gone on a 12-1 run over the course of three minutes and forty seconds. Ole Miss had not made a shot (excluding free throws) in over six minutes. After Madina Okot hit another three, that put the Rebels down 41-23.

Christeen Iwuala scored a layup for the Rebels to end the field goal drought and give her ten points in the game. McMahon wasn’t used as a primary ball carrier in the half which was ineffective for the Ole Miss. McMahon would need more involvement to cut into the lead. Rebounding and turnovers were the other issues for the Rebels that they needed to fix to fight back in the second half as they found themselves down 41-25 going into intermission.

Third Quarter

Tessa Johnson opened the quarter with a three-pointer for the Gamecocks, setting the tone early. It was not the start Ole Miss needed, as South Carolina followed with seven straight points before Tianna Thompson knocked down a three to stop the run.

South Carolina continued to control the game, forcing turnovers and maintaining a strong defensive presence. The Gamecocks stretched their advantage to 22 points with 7:10 remaining in the quarter.

The Rebels’ offensive struggles continued, as they endured another scoring drought that lasted four minutes. During that stretch, Ole Miss missed ten consecutive shots. South Carolina extended its lead to 56-28 with 4:42 left to play.

Coming out of a media timeout, Ole Miss ended the drought with a pair of free throws.

It was more of the same for the Rebels down the stretch, as South Carolina maintained control. Ole Miss trailed 66-34 heading into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Ole Miss continued more of the same in the fourth quarter, opening the period with another scoring drought. Meanwhile, Joyce Edwards continued her dominant performance, pushing her total to 21 points for the Gamecocks.

Christeen Iwuala finally ended the Rebels’ drought with a jumper at the 6:30 mark in the quarter, giving Ole Miss a much-needed basket.

The Rebels responded with a 6-0 run over a 2:30 stretch, showing fight despite the mounting deficit. Though the game was already out of reach, Ole Miss continued to compete and play with effort even while trailing by 31 points. With 4:10 remaining, the score stood at 74-43.

Both teams continued battling until the final buzzer, where Ole Miss ultimately fell 85-48.

What’s Next?

Ole Miss takes on Florida in Gainesville this Thursday, February 26th. Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m. CT.