Ole Miss 54, South Alabama 45 (.pdf)

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss held a 16 rebound margin and the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team managed to sho0t just 25.8 percent from the floor as the Lady Jags suffered their first loss of the season Friday evening, falling 54-45 to the Rebels at the Tad Smith Coliseum.

USA (2-1) will now return home to host Northwestern State on Monday.  Tip-off versus the Lady Demons is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center.  Ole Miss improves to 2-1 on the year with the win.  

“Ole Miss was just more physical than us tonight,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  “They destroyed us physically.  That said, we still had a chance to win the game.  We just didn’t have anyone that could make a shot for us tonight.  We guarded with energy, especially in the second half.  We just allowed them to rebound as much as they wanted to.”

South Alabama shot a season-low 25.8 percent from the field (17-of-66) and was just 7-of-26 from long range (26.9).  The Lady Jag defense did its part, holding the Rebels to just 28.1 percent shooting (18-of-64) and just one three-pointer.  Ole Miss hit just seven of its 31 attempts in the second half for 22.6 percent.

Senior forward Taylor Ammons and red shirt junior guard Mansa El led USA with points each.  Ammons also pulled down five rebounds.  Kierra Johnson came off the bench to record six points and a team-high eight rebounds in the loss.  Camille Reynolds – the Lady Jags’ leading scorer who entered the game averaging 22.5 points per outing – was held to just five points.  

The Rebels were led offensively by Nikki Byrd and Valencia McFarland.  Byrd led all scorers with 12 points on 5-of12 shooting and pulled down 16 rebounds.  McFarland added 11 points and six assists.  

UM held a huge advantage both on the glass and at the free throw line versus the Jaguars.  The Rebels out rebounded USA 58-42 and were 17-for-21 at the charity stripe.   

Ole Miss was the first to take more than a two-point advantage on the other as the Rebels grabbed a 10-6 lead with just over 14 minutes to go in the first half on a Pa’Sonna Hope bucket.  USA was able to battle back and tied the game back up at 10-10 on a Camille Reynolds three-pointer from the right wing.   

On Ole Miss’ next trip down the court, Kenyotta Jenkins grabbed her own miss and laid the ball back off the glass to break the tie.  Jenkins was fouled on the play and then sank her foul shot.  McFarland found Tia Faleru open on the baseline for a jumper to extend the Rebel lead to 15-10 with 11:57 showing on the clock.

South Alabama didn’t let Ole Miss stretch the lead out as the Lady Jags answered right back with a trey from Veronica Cherizol to trim the deficit to two.  

With just under six minutes remaining in the period, Ammons pulled down a missed shot and laid the ball off the glass to cut Ole Miss’s advantage to 23-20.  However, that would prove to be the last field goal of the opening period of play for the Lady Jags as they missed their last eight and turned the ball over three times.

During that stretch, the Rebels took advantage and closed out the half with eight unanswered points.  Amber Singletary began the UM run with a three-pointer from the left wing at the 5:28 mark.  Daniel McCray later knocked down back-to-back jumpers to extend the Ole Miss advantage out to double digits.  The Rebels headed into the locker room leading 31-20.

For the half, the Lady Jags managed to just shoot 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from the floor, but the key stat was on the glass where Ole Miss held a 29-16 advantage, including 16 on the offensive glass.  Those 16 offensive boards led to 16 second-chance points for the Rebels.  

Riding the momentum from the first half, Ole Miss stretched its lead out to13 (38-25) following a three-point play from McFarland with 17 minutes, five seconds to go in the period.  

Over the next two-and-a-half minutes, USA made a mini-run 7-1 run at the Rebels to pull within seven.  El knocked down a jumper at the 16:28 mark and less than a minute later, El found Ammons open for a layup.  After a Faleru free throw, Reynolds spotted Kierra Johnson open on the left wing for a trey to cut the deficit to 39-32 with 14 minutes, 47 seconds remaining on the clock.  South Alabama could have cut into the Ole Miss advantage even more when the Rebels ran through a Lady Jag screen to commit a foul and give an extra possession, but USA was unable to capitalize.  

The Rebels again pushed their lead out to double figures (45-35) after a pair of free throws from Danielle McCray with under nine to play, but South Alabama again tried to mount a late rally.  Mary Nixon intercepted a Ole Miss pass and recorded a layup at the 6:46 mark.  Two minutes later after another Jaguar steal, El found Lauren Walker open in the corner for a transition three to pull USA within five (45-40).  

Ole Miss though didn’t allow the Lady Jags to get any closer, extending its lead back out to 10 before taking the 54-45 victory.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

NOTES: With the win, Ole Miss improves to 3-2 in the all-time series.  The loss for Pietri was the first for the Lady Jag head coach to the Rebels.  South Alabama is now 2-36 all-time in games played in an SEC arena.  The Lady Jags are also 18-86 all-time versus SEC members, while Pietri is 5-14 against the league.

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