Lady Rebs KO Kentucky
Published 10:22 am Tuesday, February 24, 2015
OXFORD (AP) — Tia Faleru had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Gracie Frizzell hit five 3-pointers to help Ole Miss snap a six-game losing streak Monday night against No. 13 Kentucky, 67-59.
Frizzell finished with 15 points for Ole Miss (16-11, 6-8 Southeastern Conference), which earned its 400th win at Tad Smith Coliseum. It was Ole Miss’ first win over a Top-15 team since the 2009-10 season.
Danielle McCray scored 11 of 13 points after halftime and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. Erika Sisk scored 10 to go with a career-high eight assists.
“What a great win for our program in year two of a process that we started a year ago,” Ole Miss coach Matt Insell said. “This basketball team continues to develop each and every day. I asked them to take a chance. We were 5-8 (in SEC play), and we know we have to get 8-8 to have a chance to be in the NCAA Tournament.”
McCray scored five points during a 13-3 run which gave the Rebels a 65-55 lead with 1:01 remaining.
Defensively, Ole Miss limited Kentucky to its second-lowest scoring output of the season and 32.3 percent shooting. The Rebels also forced 15 turnovers, many in key spots, as they held the Wildcats to just 3-for-11 shooting and forced four turnovers in the final eight minutes.
“With eight minutes to go in the game, I told them we had to make 50-50 plays,” Insell said. “Every loose ball, we had to get. Out of the last 10 possessions of the game, we got eight stops. We worked a lot on defense in the summer, fall and this year, and it’s starting show. I was really proud of our defensive effort.”
Linnae Harper had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Kentucky (19-8, 8-6), which was held well below its season average (76.9 per game) and has lost three in a row. Jennifer O’Neill scored 13 and Alexis Jennings added 10 and eight boards.
Alcorn St. 73, Alabama A&M 49
Misha Jones had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Alcorn State (9-15, 8-7 Southwestern Athletic Conference) went 18-for-20 from the free throw line to beat Alabama A&M.
Alcorn has won two in a row after losing four straight games.
Shaqueria Dubose added 15 points for the Lady Braves, and Olivia Brown had 13. Jazmin Strane had six points, seven assists and 15 rebounds.
Alcorn shot 46.4 percent from the field (26-for-56) and used a 9-2 run midway through the second half to open up a 17-point lead.
Brittney Strickland led Alabama A&M (6-19, 5-9) with 25 points.