Rebels Fall to No. 11/12 Missouri, 67-48

Ole Miss freshman Promise Taylor put in a double-double effort, but No. 11/12 Missouri rode a 20-2 run to open the game to a 67-48 victory over the Rebel women’s basketball team at The Pavilion on Thursday night.
Ole Miss (11-7, 1-4 SEC) was out-rebounded 52-28 by a relentless Missouri (16-2, 4-1 SEC) assault on both ends of the court, proving why they were worthy of knocking off the defending national champions, South Carolina, earlier this season.
“Great job by Missouri,” said Ole Miss head coach Matt Insell. “Their kids came in here off a bye week, executed what they were doing, played really well and really took it to us there to start the game.”
That first quarter set the tone for the night, with the Tigers nailing 60 percent of their shots from the field. The Rebels were without starting point guard Alissa Alston (seven points) for much of the first half due to foul trouble, but Taylor – who ended with 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for her second career double-double – put up nine in the first half to help pace Ole Miss.
“Promise Taylor played her butt off tonight,” Insell said. “She took a bigger butt chewing to start the game. She was out of whack to start the game, so I chewed her out on the bench. She didn’t pout, she didn’t make excuses. She said, ‘You’re right coach,’ and went in and played the best game she’s played in league play so far against a really good team.”
Ole Miss also received a double-digit effort out of Madinah Muhammad (11 points), but Mizzou countered with a strong outing from national player of the year candidate Sophie Cunningham (20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists) amongst three total Tigers in double-digit scoring and rebounding.
Missouri is the third nationally ranked team Ole Miss has played in its last four contests (and its fourth overall this season), with top-25 foes Tennessee and Mississippi State looming on the schedule later this month as well.
“A lot gets made of who we’re playing against—top-10 teams and all that,” Insell said. “But we’re supposed to beat these teams. I expect us to beat these teams. We’re not playing the game just to get a trophy. This is a game we’re expecting to win.”
Ole Miss looks to rebound at Florida on Sunday, with tipoff scheduled for noon live on SEC Network.
Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB on Instagram at Ole MissWBB and on Snapchat with the handle @OleMissWBB. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women’s basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell.

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Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports Information