OXFORD — The plan didn’t include an effort like this, especially in a rivalry game.
But University of Mississippi coach Renee Ladner found herself in the awkward position of trying to energize her team Thursday night in its home game against arch-rival Mississippi State.
Ladner and Ole Miss never found that spark.
As a result, Diamber Johnson and Porsha Porter combined to score 30 points in a 51-46 victory before a crowd of 1,294 at Tad Smith Coliseum.
The loss snapped a two-game Southeastern Conference winning streak for Ole Miss (12-7, 2-4 SEC).
“I am disappointed we didn’t have a better showing tonight,” Ladner said. “I thought we shot the ball extremely poor. The last two games we shot 47 percent and our shot selection was better. I credit that to Mississippi State. I thought they did a good job keeping us out of the paint and not allowing us to penetrate and pitch for shots. We never looked comfortable in anything we ran.”
Ladner said she was “baffled” at her team’s lack of response to MSU’s effort, especially on the defense end. The Lady Bulldogs held the Rebels to 26.6 percent shooting from the field (17 of 64). Sophomore point guard Valencia McFarland was 4 of 22, including 2 of 10 from 3-point range. Ole Miss was 3 of 20 from 3-point range and 9 of 20 from the free-throw line.
Senior center Nikki Byrd (12 points, 14 rebounds) was the only other player to reach double figures in the game.
“I felt as if I was coaching effort all night,” Ladner said. “We tried to bring in somebody off the bench that would give us a burst of energy. Our two constants were Valencia McFarland and Nikki Byrd. I thought, for the most part, they played well, but we didn’t play well as a unit tonight.”
Kenyotta Jenkins’ layup off a high-low pass from Byrd cut MSU’s lead to 43-42 with 4 minutes, 53 seconds remaining. But the Rebels went 1 of 11 from the field down the stretch. Ole Miss also couldn’t stop Porter from scoring five consecutive points to extend the lead and Johnson, a senior from Pontotoc who had a game-high 21 points, from hitting a 3-pointer with 1:31 to play that sealed the victory.
“Diamber Johnson always torches us,” Ladner said. “This is a big game for her. It means a great deal for her. We had a game plan in place, and I think three times we actually did what we should have done. … There should have been a constant barrage of help off of Diamber because we know how good she is.”
Ladner used 5-foot-9 freshman Amber Singletary on the 5-7 Johnson for most of the game. The plan was to have Singletary receive help from a post player when Johnson called a post player to set a screen at or near the top of the key. Typically, Johnson will rub off that screen and take a jump shot or attack the basket, but Ladner said Ole Miss’ inability to communicate and to buckle down on the objective allowed Johnson to dictate tempo.
“We were going to double that. We weren’t going to allow that to occur, and I never could get my posts in position, although we worked on that for two days,” Ladner said. “We did not want her to have any looks turning. … How do you lose the best player on Mississippi State’s team? I am not sure. At times, my freshman did as well as she could, but she got schooled, so to speak, and our other players who were supposed to be helping did not help her very much.”
Ole Miss took a 26-25 lead with 16:44 remaining in the game on a shot by Jenkins (eight points, five rebounds) in the lane. But the Rebels went 1 of 9 from the field in the next four-plus minutes to help MSU re-take the lead.
Missed opportunities at the free-throw line, on putbacks, and on 3-pointers plagued the Rebels, who were coming off wins against the University of Arkansas and the University of Alabama.
“We just couldn’t knock down shots,” Byrd said. “It goes hand in hand. We just couldn’t knock down shots and they played good defense.”
MSU double-teamed Byrd for most of the game. Ladner said the Rebels didn’t do a good enough job locating Byrd when she was open. She also felt the team “pressed,” which made it even tougher to complete the comeback and to protect the home floor.
With five freshmen and four sophomores, Ladner knows Ole Miss is going to have growing pains. She said earlier this week that the team was going to stay the course and follow its plans as best as possible. The key, she said, is getting more players to develop consistency so McFarland and Byrd don’t have to carry such a big load.
“I just think the inconsistency of not having that solid player (in the backcourt to complement McFarland) is hurting us,” Ladner said. “Mississippi State had one tonight. We have to adjust to the game, and we’re not there yet. We never adjusted. We allowed them to keep popping us in the mouth.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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