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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Sunday, March 1
Oxford, Miss.
1:40 PM
Ole Miss
7-22, 0-16SEC
59
vs
84
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Mississippi State
25-5, 13-3SEC
1
2
3
4
F
Mississippi State
22
22
19
21
84
Ole Miss
17
15
16
11
59
Rebels Fall to No. 9 MSU on Senior Day
3/1/2020 | Women's Basketball
Box Score<i class="icon-paper"></i> Final Stats (PDF)<i class="icon-speech-bubblesvg"></i> Quotes<i class="icon-camera"></i> Photos<i class="icon-video"></i> Highlights<i class="icon-video"></i> Postgame
Ole Miss Draws Missouri in First Round of 2020 SEC Tournament on Wednesday
OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss women's basketball team played a terrific first half against the 9th-ranked team in the nation, but a fast and furious 14-0 run by Mississippi State to close the half provided a permanent momentum boost for the Bulldogs in an 84-59 loss at The Pavilion on Sunday.
MSU (25-5, 13-3) caught the best effort possible out of a hungry Ole Miss team that refused to let an early hole keep them down for long. The Rebels rattled off a 7-0 run in just 1:07 of game time to tie the contest at 17-17 at the 1:06 mark on a Jayla Alexander (seven points, two rebounds, three assists) three-pointer. Deja Cage (19 points, four assists) hit two threes in the first as well and ended the game with three from beyond the arc, giving her nine in her last two games alone. The first quarter was an electric one for both squads, as they shot a combined 59.3 percent from the field.
Ole Miss took that energy into the second quarter, where the Rebels were able to force four ties and take the lead on three separate occasions, eliciting a big response from the home bench. Dominique Banks (12 points, seven rebounds, two blocks) and Torri Lewis (five points, two steals) got the party started for the Rebels in the second quarter, with Lewis hitting a big three in her final home game as a Rebel. Banks was crucial in that second quarter, scoring eight of her 12 in the frame.
However, Mississippi State revved up its full-court press in the closing 2:36 of the half, taking an Ole Miss 32-30 lead to a 44-32 halftime advantage thanks to a blistering 14-0 run that featured eight points and two steals alone from Aliyah Matharu (24 points, two rebounds, two steals, one assist). That distance proved to be all the Bulldogs would need the remainder of the game as Ole Miss was never able to bring it back to a single-digit game.
"We just unraveled," said Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "I thought that took the air out of us and we couldn't recover."
Sunday was a special day at The Pavilion, though, as Ole Miss said goodbye to fifth-year senior Torri Lewis, as well as longtime student manager Kris Storey. Lewis, known as a sharp-shooter from beyond the arc throughout her career, has played in 108 career games and hit 129 career three-pointers for 468 total points. Lewis redshirted the 2018-19 season due to the birth of her son, A.J., but returned to serve as a team captain this season.
"I'm excited about Torri's future," McPhee-McCuin said. "I thought that she played her heart out. She made a three. I thought she gave everything she had. We are always going to appreciate her. She'll always be family and we are excited about what is to come."
Ole Miss (7-22, 0-16 SEC) now turns its attention to the 2020 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament, where it will square off against Missouri (8-21, 5-11 SEC) in the First Round on Wednesday afternoon.
Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole MissWBB. You can also follow head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on Twitter at @YolettMcCuin
MSU (25-5, 13-3) caught the best effort possible out of a hungry Ole Miss team that refused to let an early hole keep them down for long. The Rebels rattled off a 7-0 run in just 1:07 of game time to tie the contest at 17-17 at the 1:06 mark on a Jayla Alexander (seven points, two rebounds, three assists) three-pointer. Deja Cage (19 points, four assists) hit two threes in the first as well and ended the game with three from beyond the arc, giving her nine in her last two games alone. The first quarter was an electric one for both squads, as they shot a combined 59.3 percent from the field.
Ole Miss took that energy into the second quarter, where the Rebels were able to force four ties and take the lead on three separate occasions, eliciting a big response from the home bench. Dominique Banks (12 points, seven rebounds, two blocks) and Torri Lewis (five points, two steals) got the party started for the Rebels in the second quarter, with Lewis hitting a big three in her final home game as a Rebel. Banks was crucial in that second quarter, scoring eight of her 12 in the frame.
However, Mississippi State revved up its full-court press in the closing 2:36 of the half, taking an Ole Miss 32-30 lead to a 44-32 halftime advantage thanks to a blistering 14-0 run that featured eight points and two steals alone from Aliyah Matharu (24 points, two rebounds, two steals, one assist). That distance proved to be all the Bulldogs would need the remainder of the game as Ole Miss was never able to bring it back to a single-digit game.
"We just unraveled," said Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "I thought that took the air out of us and we couldn't recover."
Sunday was a special day at The Pavilion, though, as Ole Miss said goodbye to fifth-year senior Torri Lewis, as well as longtime student manager Kris Storey. Lewis, known as a sharp-shooter from beyond the arc throughout her career, has played in 108 career games and hit 129 career three-pointers for 468 total points. Lewis redshirted the 2018-19 season due to the birth of her son, A.J., but returned to serve as a team captain this season.
"I'm excited about Torri's future," McPhee-McCuin said. "I thought that she played her heart out. She made a three. I thought she gave everything she had. We are always going to appreciate her. She'll always be family and we are excited about what is to come."
Ole Miss (7-22, 0-16 SEC) now turns its attention to the 2020 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament, where it will square off against Missouri (8-21, 5-11 SEC) in the First Round on Wednesday afternoon.
Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole MissWBB. You can also follow head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on Twitter at @YolettMcCuin
Team Stats
MSU
OM
FG%
.607
.455
3FG%
.625
.261
FT%
.786
.429
RB
30
24
TO
15
19
STL
11
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballA Glimpse of Team 51: Christeen Iwuala and Tianna Thompson (WBB)
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