Ole Miss Advances to the Quarterfinals After 69-60 Win Over No. 13 Arkansas

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Ole Miss will advance to the quarterfinals of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament after a 69-60 win over No. 13 Arkansas. 

Ole Miss (11-10, 4-10 SEC) was led on the floor by Shakira Austin, who scored 29 points with 13 rebounds. Her teammate Donnetta Johnson scored 12 points.

“This is why a young lady leaves a team like Maryland and comes to Ole Miss, to do stuff like this,” head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “We think she is one of the best players in the conference. Her leadership and presence on the floor was phenomenal.”

The Rebels defense opened the game up in the first quarter by holding the Razorbacks to a season-low seven points. Austin scored eight points in the first ten minutes of action to give Ole Miss a 17-7 advantage going into the second quarter.

Arkansas made a push in the second quarter to take a 24-22 lead at the 4:42 mark. The Rebels quickly answered with a three-pointer by Jacorriah Bracey.

Arkansas’s guard Chelsea Dungee scored 22 points and went 3-11 from behind the arc.

“We focused on shrinking the gaps and made Dungee take really tough shots,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I thought our defensive intensity and rotation was so good, we were able to wear them down.  When they need those threes, they didn’t have the legs to shoot it.”

In the fourth quarter, the Rebels opened the last portion of the game with a 8-0 run over 3:24. Arkansas ended the run with a three-pointer by Dungee. The Razorbacks only scored eight points in the quarter.

Ole Miss out hustled the Razorbacks on the glass 48-34 in rebounds. 

The Rebels will now face the No. 3 seeded Tennessee Lady Volunteers in the quarterfinals on Friday. This marks the first time since 2010. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.