Second chance points and a suffocating defense paved Ole Miss’ way to a 66-45 victory over the Mizzou Tigers Monday night at Mizzou Arena. The Rebels hauled in 16 offensive rebounds and put up 18 second chance points; they limited the Tigers to two offensive rebounds and zero second chance points.
It wasn’t just the second chance points that worked in favor of the Rebels. Ole Miss’ defense gave Mizzou fits the entire game. Ole Miss played a very tight man to man defense. The Rebels picked up 8 steals, blocked two shots and forced 18 turnovers. Ole Miss made an early commitment to shutting down the Tigers from behind the arc, where they average 8.3 made field goals per game. On Monday night, the Tigers didn’t even get off eight shots from behind the arc as they went 0-7 from behind the arc.
“Two years ago we came in here (Mizzou Arena), and we didn’t allow them to make a three, and we wanted to recreate that, so our team was incredibly passionate about taking away the three,” remarked Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. While Mizzou didn’t have any success from beyond the arc, the Tigers were able to push the ball in transition and down low.
The Tigers successfully spaced out the floor. Mama Dembele acted as a catalyst for the Mizzou offense in the third quarter as she collected two steals and two assists. Dembele sparked the Mizzou offense to go on a 9-0 run and cut the Ole Miss lead down to seven. Mizzou’s run stalled when Dembele had to leave the game for the final 1:10 of the third quarter due to a minor injury. She would return in the fourth quarter. Dembele was a problem for the Ole Miss offense the entire game as she collected four steals and brought in three defensive rebounds. McPhee-McCuin had high praise for Dembele when she said, “The improvement that Mama had, has been tremendous… She’s always been a defensive gnat, but now taking on the role of scoring… I thought she has really stepped up into that role as a senior should.”
Ole Miss took advantage of Dembele’s absence and Mizzou’s stalled momentum as the Rebels stretched their lead back to 11 with baskets from Kennedy Williams-Todd and Snudda Collins. Snudda Collins led the way in scoring for the Rebels with 14 points and shooting 5-11 from the field, and 4-7 from beyond the arc. Collins seemed to be the only player that could find rhythm from beyond the arc as all other players combined to shoot 1-14 from 3-point range.
The Tigers have lost their last nine games, and are now 2-12 in SEC play, but Robin Pingeton said that there is still optimism in the locker room, and that they want to “knock down that door” and get back into the win column in SEC play. The Tigers have two games remaining on their schedule before the start of the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina. On Thursday, the Tigers play Vanderbilt, who they beat earlier in the season 65-63. They close out the regular season Sunday against Mississippi State. Ole Miss is back in action Thursday when the Rebels travel to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats.