Ole Miss WBB dominates MVSU for first win

OXFORD, Miss. (Ole Miss Athletics) – It was all Ole Miss Sunday afternoon from the SJB Pavilion as the Rebels picked up their first win of the 2021-22 season in a lopsided 94-44 victory over Mississippi Valley State.

“We have a lot of offense going on, so I was excited about everybody and what everybody did,” said Yolett McPhee-McCuin. “From Mimi’s leadership on the floor, all the way to Aleah coming in and playing composed tried to get everybody in and give everybody some minutes so that they can get the feel of what it’s like”

In her second game as a Rebel after transferring from Wright State, Angel Baker led Ole Miss (1-1) with 18 points and eight boards over MVSU (0-1) in the second largest margin of victory in the series. Including Baker, four Rebels finished in double-digits with Caitlin McGee tying a career-high 13 points and Mimi Reid and Lashonda Monk adding 12 and 11 a piece. On the glass, Shakira Austin paced Ole Miss with 10 boards as the Rebels outrebounded the Devilettes 41 to 28. As a squad the Rebels shared the ball, dishing out a total of 24 assists.

Ole Miss wasted no time getting on the board, with Reid draining a three on the Rebels’ first possession of the game. The Rebels utilized a 13-2 run off of six points from McGee to assert themselves over the Devilettes, ending the first quarter up 23-12.

The Rebel defense continued to hold tough heading into the second quarter, as the Devilette offense was held to 27 percent from the field in the first half. Ole Miss got to work in the paint with a 14-0 run extending its lead to by 27 before heading into the locker-room up 56-22, as the Rebels could not seem to miss, shooting 60% from the field.

It took the Rebels a few minutes to wake up offensively in the third quarter as their hot shooting had cooled off, until Reid added to her point total with a smooth layup. The Devilettes attempted to fend off the Rebels scoring a quarter high 13 points in the third.

The defense continued to lock it down, forcing five quick turnovers as the Rebels began the fourth quarter on a 16-0 run. Ole Miss refused to take its foot off the gas, outscoring MVSU 29-9 to end the game and run away with a 94-44 victory.

“It was better to finish off on the win side of the win column, so I’m grateful for that. Today I really wanted to see our team be more disciplined and play our style of basketball,” remarked McPhee-McCuin. “I felt like that we had a lot of moments when we had those opportunities and I still think that there’s a lot more that we can improve upon, but it was good to see Angel score today. It was good to see a lot of people scoring.”

The Rebels are in for a quick turnaround returning to the SJB Pavilion to face Lamar Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network +.