Ole Miss women’s basketball uses defense to beat Missouri
Credit: Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss women’s basketball packed its defense, holding its fourth Power Five opponent this season under 50 points in a 66-45 defeat of Missouri from Mizzou on Monday night. The 21-point victory was the Rebels’ largest in program history over the Tigers and its third win in Columbia.
Ole Miss picked up its 20th win of the season and 10th in conference play (20-7, 10-4 SEC) in its signature fashion, holding one of the SEC’s top three-point shooting teams in Missouri (11-16, 2-12 SEC) scoreless from beyond the arc.
Back in the rotation, Snudda Collins came ready to go in tying her season-best with four drained triples to finish with a team-high 14 points. Kennedy-Todd Williams and Madison Scott followed in double-figures with 12 and 10 points. When the duo of Collins and Scott hit double-figures in scoring, the Rebels are 17-3.
Ole Miss took care of business off the glass, out-rebounding Mizzou by a margin of 16 and grabbed 40 rebounds. Tyia Singleton led the way with nine boards, and added nine points.
Despite missing the last two games with an injury, Collins opened up the first possession for the Rebels with a drained triple from the corner. Facing a four minute scoring drought, Singleton re-ignited Ole Miss with a jumper in a back-and-forth opening five minutes. Forcing multiple Mizzou stops, the Rebels began to find their footing to hold a slight edge at 13-10 through one.
A 10-0 run from the Rebels began to create separation from the Tigers, as Ole Miss’ defense forced Missouri into disarray. Preventing the Tigers from scoring for over five minutes in the second, the Rebels limited Mizzou to its fewest points in a half this season, leading 26-17 at the break.
The Rebel defense refused to go away and powered its offense, as multiple three’s from Collins provided Ole Miss with breathing room. Fight remained in the Tigers, with a 11-0 run to close in on the Rebels and cut their lead to single-digits. Collins’ hands remained hot, with a deep jumper in the waning seconds of the quarter to re-establish a double-figure lead by 11 at 44-33.
Collins kept the Rebels rolling, tying her season-high with her fourth triple of the night with less than eight minutes remaining on the clock. The Rebels pieced together yet another scoring run of eight consecutive points to put another road win within their sights. Out-scoring Missouri 22-14 in the final quarter, Ole Miss ran off to its third straight win over the Tigers, 66-45.
The Rebels remain on the road for their last away game of the regular season, visiting Kentucky on Thursday (Feb. 29). The 6 p.m. contest from Rupp Arena will stream on SEC Network +.
