Once Ole Miss snagged the lead in the first quarter, there was no looking back as the Rebels went on hold their seventh opponent under 50 points this season to defeat Florida, 68-42, from the SJB Pavilion on Sunday.
Ole Miss (19-5, 8-3 SEC) ran past Florida (14-9, 3-9 SEC) in a 26-point win, for the largest victory over the Gators in series history. The Rebel defense also restricted the Gators to shoot 24.1%, the lowest field goal percentage Ole Miss has held an SEC team to in the last 20 seasons.
Now only four points away from hitting 2,000 in her career, Angel Baker led the Rebels with a team high 18-points off of seven field goals. Scoring double digits in the last 13 out of 14 games, Madison Scott added 15 points and seven rebounds. Joining Baker and Scott in double-figures was Marquesha Davis with 15 points, finishing in double-figures the last five contests.
Outrebounding the Gators by a 14 plus margin, Rita Igbokwe carried the Rebels off the glass with a season-high 11 rebounds. Igbokwe’s three blocks pushed her within 14 of 200 on her career.
Dropping dimes was Myah Taylor with six helpers, her 11th game this season with five or more assists.
Scott got to work early, with the Rebels first two buckets of the day as Ole Miss worked to catch up with the Gators after grabbing a quick four-point lead. Shooting became cold for Ole Miss, struggling to reach the basket for over two minutes. Capitalizing off of Gator turnovers, the Rebels took their first lead of the game off a smooth Collins jumper with a minute remaining in the first and never looked back. The defense turned it up a notch, with Ole Miss holding UF 0-of-10 from the field to end the opening quarter, leading 14-11.
With the defense on lock, Ole Miss worked to build up its lead all while stifling the Gators from the field holding UF to 26% shooting in the first half alone. The first drained triple of the day coming from Snudda Collins to beat the shot clock, provided the Rebels its largest lead of the day to date, leading 23-15. Only allowing seven field goals to the Gators, Ole Miss took a 10-point lead into the locker room, up 33-23.
The defensive prowess from Ole Miss remained strong into the third, with the Gators only hitting two of their first 10 attempts of the half. Baker and Scott came alive, propelling the Rebels to extend their advantage over the Gators 43-31 through three.
An 10-0 Ole Miss run put the finish line in sight for the Rebels, in pursuit of its 19th win of the season. The defense remained strong around the basket, holding the Gators scoreless for three out of the final five minutes as the Rebels walked away with the win, 68-42.
The Rebels enjoy a week-long break before welcoming Kentucky to the SJB Pavilion next Monday night (Feb. 13). The nationally televised game against the Wildcats tips off at 6 p.m. CT.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics
