Ole Miss women’s basketball falls short at home to No. 7 LSU, 78-70

OXFORD, Miss– The Ole Miss Rebels lost 78- 70 in a heartbreaker against the LSU Tigers. Despite the team’s best efforts, they ran out of gas, and the fourth quarter was not kind to them after they went 0-17 from the field.

However, credit is due to LSU and Kim Mulkey’s team. They had standout performances from MiLaysia Fulwiley, who recorded 26 points and seven rebounds, as well as Flau’jae Johnson, who had 18 points and five rebounds.

Theusual big three for the Rebels showed their skill tonight. Cotie McMahon records her 17th 20+ point game of the season with 25 points on the night. Lattasha Lattimore continues to be a gem for the Rebels, scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Christeen Iwuala had 13 points and eight rebounds.

The crowd was thunderous tonight for Coach Yo’s squad, but they could only take them so far. Let’s get into tonight’s action.

1st Quarter

This game started as a battle. LSU won the opening tip and scored, but it was quickly answered with a nice three from Cotie McMahon. LSU took advantage earlier, jumping out to a six-point lead with 6:16 remaining. The Rebels were fighting, and LSU was hitting their shots. This trend would continue as the Tigers led the Rebels 14-7 at the first media timeout, with 5:36 left in the quarter.

An unsuccessful LSU challenge would lead to another massive three by Cotie McMahon. It was quickly answered with two straight buckets by LSU. Flau’jae Johnson already had 9 points for the Tigers at this point. The crowd. The importance of this game. Ole Miss needed to live up to the moment against the seventh-ranked team.

With three minutes remaining, the Rebels were down 24-17. Flau’jae Johnson would go down(she would later return before the second quarter). This would be the Rebels’ chance to capitalize. Cotie would nail a fade-away jumper, but Lattimore was down on the previous play. Ole Miss was down 24-21 with a minute and a half left in the quarter.

LSU would take the lead back up to 5 before the end of the quarter. The score was 26-21. Cotie McMahon led the Rebels in scoring with 10 in this half, and it still felt like it wasn’t enough. The Rebels would have to bring a different level of effort and energy if they wanted to take the lead in this game.

2nd Quarter

Christeen Iwuala would score a layup to open this quarter. Ole Miss rebounded off the Tigers’ missed layup, and Denim Deshields gets the ball on the other end, launches a pass out to Cotie to nail a three. The Rebels had tied the game 26-26. However, Tigers fired right back to jump back up two points. It would continue to be a back-and-forth affair. Ole Miss was down 30-28 with 6:58 remaining.

Ole Miss was fighting on both ends of the court, and the crowd was roaring, starting to believe in the Rebels. Ole Miss had tied the game 31-31 after a Lattimore jumper. After LSU turned over the ball three times and went scoreless in three minutes. The game was still tied with 3:55 left in the quarter. Rebels needed to capitalize on this and take the lead.

Tianna Thompson hits a massive three out of a media timeout, putting the Rebels up 34-31. Cotie McMahon would have 15 points after a nice layup. Jada Richardson hit a two-pointer for LSU, putting us back at a one-point game. McMahon then would run down the court and hit a and-one layup. Kaitlin Peterson hits a jumper. J”Adore Young also scored a layup. The Rebels were getting it done on both ends of the court to end the half. Ole Miss leads 43-37. The crowd was alive for this team. This aggression would have to continue for Ole Miss to win.

3rd Quarter

LSU would score, but Christeen Iwuala would fire right back with a layup to open the quarter. Christeen would score again for the Rebels, setting a 47-41 lead with eight minutes remaining.

The Tigers were not going away after a made shot and some free throws; the game was back within two before a massive Thompson three. Christeen Iwuala had 12 points. Cotie McMahon drove to the basket and was fouled hard by Grace Knox. A common tech would also be added on. McMahon would hit 3 of 4 total free throws to put the Rebels up 10, giving her 21 points on the night. Tianna Thompson then would nail a three to put Ole Miss up 58-45 with five minutes to play.

Ole Miss would miss five shots straight over the course of three minutes. These issues allowed the Tigers to go on a 6-0 run. Ole Miss is still leading 58-51. They needed to score to get their offense back on track with 2:19 left to play in the third.

The crowd was screaming for the Rebels to maintain control. McMahon would use the energy to hit a smooth spin move layup. Debreasha Powe would nail a three. The quarter ends with Ole Miss leading the Tigers 63-54. A whole lot more basketball was left to play.

4th Quarter

This quarter opened with neither team scoring in the first one and a half minutes. Latasha Lattimore, after two free throws made, had a quiet 12 points and six rebounds on the night so far.

The Tigers were fighting back after a three-point and a two-point jumper. Ole Miss was still maintaining a six-point lead until McMahon sank two free throws to go back up eight, which would cause the star to have 25 points. The Rebels were still fighting for every rebound, anything they could get, as long as it meant victory was on its way.

Coach Yo had the Rebels playing a safer approach with five and a half minutes left. Ole Miss was seven points ahead, but with a team as dangerous as LSU, it would be seen if the Rebels could maintain the 69-61 lead.

Coming out of the timeout, LSU sank two free throws after a bad turnover by McMahon, and the Tigers cut the lead to four. Then they cut it to two after a layup. Then a jumper. With a dominant 10-run lead and Ole Miss being unable to score, this game was tied with 3:29 left to play.

LSU took the lead with two made free throws. Shots were not falling for the Rebels. 2;24 left to play, LSU had a lead of three after a made free throw by Iwuala. LSU took it right down the lane to go up 74-70 with 1:25 left.

LSU was on a tear at the end of the game to shut the Rebels down. The different approach to offense really changed the game for the Rebels. The team played at a slower pace, leading by under 10 points. In the end, it hurt the Rebels in this game. The Rebels shot 0-17 this quarter. This game might haunt Ole Miss for a long time.

The number seven-ranked Tigers defeat the number seventeen-ranked Ole Miss 78-70 after a great performance from Flau’jae Johnson and MiLaysia Fulwiley, and a collapse by the Rebels in the fourth.

What’s Next

No. 17-ranked Ole Miss goes against No. 3-ranked South Carolina on Sunday, February 22nd. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT.