Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Falls Short in Battle with No. 1 South Carolina, 71-57

In its home finale on senior day from the SJB Pavilion, Ole Miss stood tough with the nation’s best in No. 1 South Carolina but ultimately came up short falling 71-57. The Rebels wrap up the regular season with a fourth-place finish in SEC play, for its best since the 1993-94 season.
 
South Carolina (27-1, 15-1 SEC) utilized a fourth quarter surge to power past Ole Miss (22-7, 10-6 SEC) to come away with the victory, as the Rebels honored Shakira Austin, Donnetta Johnson, Iyanla Kitchens, Lashonda Monk, Andeija Puckettand Mimi Reid pregame.
 
Leading Ole Miss was Austin recording her ninth 20-point performance of the season, with 20 points and seven rebounds. Running point, Monk dropped 16 points and grabbing four boards. In her final game at the SJB Pavilion, Reid dished out five assists for her 11th game this season with five plus. As a reserve, Angel Baker came in to add 11 points.
 
Monk was not here to mess around with a quick six points to pace the Rebels to start, while Baker added six of her own. While Ole Miss took off on a 6-0 run to end the quarter, the Rebels held the Gamecocks without a field goal the final two minutes as South Carolina led by two at 19-17 through the first.
 
Carried by Austin, the Rebels fought back to meet up with the Gamecocks at 23 all early in the second, while Baker and Monk continued to reach the basket. South Carolina flipped the script with a 6-0 run, while holding the Rebels scoreless for over two and a half minutes to build its lead up to 38-29. Ole Miss worked to close the gap within six at 40-33 heading into the break.
 
The Rebels cut the deficit to three early into the second half, yet the Gamecocks responded back on the outsides hitting shots from deep to extend its lead.
 
It was a two-possession game heading into the fourth, right before a 10-0 Gamecock run allowed them to grasp a firm lead to seal the 71-57 victory.
 
The Rebels wrap up the regular season with its best finish in conference play since the 1993-94 season and will await their next opponent as the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament in Nashville this next week. Ole Miss will face the winner of game four on Friday, March 4, at approximately 2:25 p.m. on SEC Network.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports