Ole Miss’ Talaysia Cooper goes to the rim Monday versus Alcorn State.
Jaida Civil scored 17 points, Jada Richard and Jade Tillman each added 14, and No. 19 Ole Miss opened its season with an 80-38 rout of Alcorn State on Monday at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion.
It was Kids’ Day at the Pavilion.
The Rebels (1-0) never trailed. They scored the first six points of the game and led throughout, pulling away with a 26-point second quarter that turned a 10-6 first-quarter edge into a 36-19 halftime lead. The lead kept growing from there — 21 in the third, 23 in the fourth.
The run that broke it open
Maya Anderson and Knisha Godfrey hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions late in the fourth quarter to cap a 16-2 run that pushed the margin to 79-35. Alcorn State (0-1) scored just nine points in the final period, its lowest-scoring quarter of the game.
| BOX SCORE | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcorn State | 6 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 38 |
| Ole Miss | 10 | 26 | 21 | 23 | 80 |
Glass and balance
Jade Tillman finished with a double-double, adding 11 rebounds to her 14 points, and Ole Miss controlled the boards 48-28 — a 20-rebound margin that reflects the size advantage the Rebels held all afternoon.
Talaysia Cooper scored nine points in 22 minutes in her Ole Miss debut. She arrived after leading Tennessee in scoring (16.0 per game), assists (3.6), steals (2.7) and 3-pointers (61) last season.
For Alcorn State, Jae’la Smith and Jada Morgan each scored eight points. The Lady Braves are coming off a 17-14 season that included a WNIT berth.
Series context
The win extends Ole Miss’s dominance in the series. The Rebels have now won 20 straight against Alcorn State in a rivalry dating to 1980 — the Lady Braves took the first meeting 46 years ago and have not won since. Ole Miss also improved to 102-7 against SWAC opponents, including 23-0 under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin.