Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Withstands Vanderbilt Charge to Win 57-47

Despite a wire to wire first three quarters, Ole Miss rode a fourth-quarter surge to walk out of Memorial Gymnasium with a 57-47 victory over Vanderbilt Sunday afternoon. Not only did the Rebels win in Nashville for the first time since 1987, Ole Miss also reached 20 wins on the season for the first time since 2007.
 
Shakira Austin pushed Ole Miss (20-6, 8-5 SEC) over Vanderbilt (12-16, 3-11 SEC) with 22 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. Austin notched her eighth double-double and her eighth 20-point outing of the season. Following Austin was Lashonda Monk, adding 18 points after shooting 7-of-12 from the field. 
 
The Rebels cleaned up off the glass, outrebounding the Commodores by a margin of 16 in a game that included 12 ties and 12 lead changes.
 
It took a few minutes for the Ole Miss offense to get going, until Monk hit her first jumper of the day to provide a spark. The Rebels struggled to maintain possession of the ball with seven turnovers in the first, yet still held an edge through the first 10 minutes up 13-11.
 
Austin capitalized off of Commodore miscues, grabbing eight rebounds in the first half alone as Ole Miss battled to extend its lead. VU was relentless on defense, forcing eight steals 15 minutes in. Despite Ole Miss up by four at 21-17, Vanderbilt quickly erased this with an 8-2 run to take its first lead. Monk ensured Vandy wouldn’t carry that lead into the half, with a last-minute layup to even the game at 25 all. 
 
The fight in both teams remained, as Reid feeding Austin for a layup allowed Ole Miss to take back the advantage by two early in the third. With a 9-0 run, Ole Miss got its groove back to build a cushion of six. Pressure from Ole Miss forced VU into a frenzy, turning the ball over seven times in the quarter. However, Commodores fought back, chipping away at the Rebels to tie the game once again at 38 all and take a one-point lead with 10 minutes remaining.
 
VU utilized a 4-0 run to work to pull away up 45-41 with five minutes left, until Ole Miss halted all momentum with an 9-0 run highlighted by two straight Austin layups. A 16-2 run within the last five minutes all but surely cemented the 57-47 win for the Rebels for their 20^th of the season.
 
The Rebels return home for their second of three games in five days for a rescheduled contest against Arkansas Tuesday night from the SJB Pavilion. The matchup against the Hogs is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network +.

Courtesy of Ole Miss