No. 13 Ole Miss scored 20 consecutive points in the first half Monday night against Auburn as the Rebels defeated the Tigers 71-45 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala. The game was initially scheduled to be played on Sunday at SJB Pavilion but was moved due to inclement weather.
Senior guard/forward Cotie McMahon finished with a game-high 20 points, her third straight game with at least 20 points scored. The Rebels (19-4, 6-2) held Auburn (13-10, 2-7) without a 3-pointer for the first three quarters and 1 of 14 from deep overall.
“Grateful to be here, grateful for another victory. I don’t care what people are, what their record is … every night in the SEC is a tough battle,” Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. ”So, (I) thought our team showed a lot of resilience. … I wanted everybody to get minutes, and I’m glad that we finished off the fourth quarter in the manner that we did.”
Auburn jumped out to an early six-point lead, though the Rebels responded with 18 straight points to end the first quarter and led by 12 heading into the second. The Tigers were held scoreless for nearly seven minutes to end the first. McMahon scored 10 points in the opening period.
The Rebels scored the opening basket of the second quarter, making it a 20-0 run before Auburn’s Khady Leye finally ended the Tigers’ scoring drought with a layup two minutes into the period. The Rebels led by 16 at halftime and held the Tigers to just 8 of 28 over the first two quarters.
McMahon scored five points in the third quarter, and the Rebels extended their lead up to as many as 30 in the fourth. Sophomore guard Sira Thienou and senior guard Christeen Iwuala finished with 14 points and 12 points, respectively.
Ole Miss plays at Alabama tomorrow at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
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