Ole Miss jumps on Vanderbilt early, advances to SEC Tournament semifinals – The Clarion-Ledger

GREENVILLE, SC — Ole Miss women’s basketball is moving on in the SEC Tournament.
The No. 7 seed Rebels (23-10) maintained the lead over No. 2 seed Vanderbilt (27-4) from start to finish in the quarterfinals on March 6 and won 89-78.
Ole Miss also defeated Vanderbilt 83-75 in the regular season when the two teams had to play in Birmingham, Alabama, because of the ice storm in Oxford. 
Senior forward Latasha Lattimore led Ole Miss with 28 points. Senior forward Cotie McMahon wasn’t far behind with 27 points.
The Commordores showed life in the fourth quarter. Ole Miss led by 32 points at one point, but Vanderbilt went on a mini run in the fourth to cut it down to 11. Sophomore guard and SEC Player of the Year Mikayla Blakes was the spark behind that run. She scored just one point in the first half, but she scored 23 in the second.
The Rebels will face the winner of No. 3 seed Texas vs No. 11 seed Alabama in the semifinals on March 7 (6 p.m. CT, ESPN 2).
Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph was ejected from the game with 9:25 left to play in the fourth quarter after arguing with a referee. The Commodores trail Ole Miss 71-46.
The Commodores are showing life as they kick off the third quarter, outscoring the Rebels 11-4. The Commodores still don’t have a player in double figures.
Ole Miss looked in control the entire first half, maintaining the lead the whole time. They’ll enter the second half with a 32-point advantage over the Commodores. Senior forward Latasha Lattimore leads the Rebels with 15 points, as she’s a perfect 7-of-7 from the field. As a team, Ole Miss went 19-of-33 from the field for 57.6 percent. On the other hand, the Commodores went 5-of-29 from the field for just over 17 percent.
The Rebels have done an exceptional job of containing Vanderbilt’s leading scorer, Mikayla Blakes, as she’s only scored one point in the first half, going 0-of-11 from the field. Blakes leads the nation in scoring, averaging 27.1 points per game, and was named the SEC Player of the Year.
Ole Miss starts the second quarter just like they started the first, outscoring the Commodores 23-7. Rebels’ sophomore guard Tianna Thompson intercepted a pass and went up for an easy layup, forcing Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph to call a timeout. The Commodores are already up to seven turnovers.
Ole Miss ended the first quarter on a 12-4 run, entering the second quarter with a 25-6 lead. Six points in a quarter is a season low for the Commodores. Rebels’ sophomore guard Tianna Thompson is already in double figures with ten points, as she’s 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from three.
The Rebels have held Vanderbilt’s leading scorer, Mikayla Blakes, to zero points as she’s 0-of-9 from the field.
Ole Miss kicks the game off with an 11-point lead. Sophomore guard Tianna Thompson is a perfect 2-for-2 from the field, leading the Rebels with five points. Graduate guard Sacha Washington is the sole scorer for Vanderbilt with two points.
Ole Miss
The Rebels have not released a new injury report for this game, but Sira Thienou was listed as a game-time decision against Auburn and did not play.
Vanderbilt
Madison Greene – Out
Vanderbilt 81, Ole Miss 69: Recently, Ole Miss has lacked the fire it had when it beat Vanderbilt the first time around. Especially given that Sira Thienou may not be available, Vanderbilt seems poised to get its revenge against the Rebels.
Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on X @tiareid65.
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