Vanderbilt women’s basketball started the season with 20 straight wins, but have now lost two straight after falling 83-75 to Ole Miss on Jan. 30.
The No. 5 Commodores (20-2, 6-2 SEC) were in trouble early to the No. 17 Rebels (18-4, 5-2 SEC), trailing by 19 at halftime at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Though Vanderbilt erased that deficit, tying the game at 64 midway through the fourth quarter, Ole Miss responded with a 19-11 run to end the game.
Cotie McMahon led the Rebels with 27 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Christeen Iwaula added 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Mikayla Blakes had 29 points, five rebounds, and four assists for the Commodores.
The game was re-scheduled and re-located after an ice storm hit the southern U.S., causing Ole Miss’ campus to close through Feb. 8.
Vanderbilt will next host Florida on Feb. 1.
A long range 3-pointer from Justin Pissott tied the game at 64, officially erasing a 19-point lead for Ole Miss at halftime. Quite a turnaround for Vanderbilt.
Mikayla Blakes’ speed is starting to show. She’s up to 25 points as Vanderbilt slowly cuts into Ole Miss’ lead. The Rebels lead 60-51 at the end of the third quarter, but were up by 19 at half.
Vanderbilt began the third quarter on an 11-2 run to get within 10 points of Ole Miss. Sacha Washington completed a three-point play on a layup and now has seven points.
That was not a good half of basketball for Vanderbilt. Turnovers, missed shots, and poor defense has Ole Miss up 44-25 at halftime. Mikayla Blakes leads the Commodores with 15 points, but Ole Miss’ combo of Cotie McMahon (15 points) and Christeen Iwaula (10 points) has been too much for Vanderbilt on defense.
With 3:33 left in the second quarter, Ole Miss has opened up a 15-point lead over Vanderbilt. The Rebels are shooting 55%, but the story for the Commodores is turnovers. Eight turnovers have led to 13 points for Ole Miss in the first half. Ole Miss 38, Vanderbilt 22.
Turnovers are a problem for the Commodores early. They have five and almost all have led directly to points for the Rebels. Ole Miss leads 23-15 at the end of the first quarter, Blakes has nine of Vanderbilt’s 15 points.
The star players are leading both Vanderbilt and Ole Miss early. Mikayla Blakes leads the Commodores with seven points, while Cotie McMahon has five for the Rebels. Ole Miss leads 12-11 at the first media timeout.
Neither team has any known injuries.
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