OXFORD — The Ole Miss women’s basketball team used a 15-2 run to seal a 91-68 victory against Southern on Thursday night at Tad Smith Coliseum.
Senior forward Tia Faleru scored 29 points and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds to help Ole Miss improve to 3-0. Senior forward Danielle McCray had a career-high 18 points and a season-high nine rebounds, while junior guard Gracie Frizzell and freshman guard Kiera Golden added 13 points and 11 points, respectively.
“I’m really excited about getting that win,” Ole Miss coach Matt Insell said. “I know it was a grind there for a little bit, but we pushed it out there at the end because of our defense.”
Faleru and McCray also helped Ole Miss to a 59-36 rebounding advantage, including 27-15 on the offensive glass, which helped the Rebels overcome a 41-percent shooting night and 22 turnovers.
“She brought intensity, and I came along with her,” Faleru said of McCray. “The more energy she had, the more energy I had, and that’s what led the team today. That’s what seniors do. They step up in crunch time.”
The Rebels shot 28 percent (12 of 43) from the field and committed 16 turnovers on the way to a 38-32 halftime lead. McCray led all players with 11 first-half points, while Faleru led the way with 11 rebounds.
“We got really sped up early on and we got careless with the basketball and turned it over,” Insell said. “We had 16 turnovers at the half, and that’s not us. We don’t do that. I talked to them about slowing down and not playing so timid and scared, but playing relaxed, and they did that in the second half.”
Ole Miss will play host to Middle Tennessee State at 3 p.m. Sunday at Tad Smith Coliseum.
The game will be the first of a doubleheader with the men’s team, which will play Northern Arizona.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.