By ADAM BROWN
Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics
The No. 14 Ole Miss women’s basketball team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks 80-57 inside the Pavilion on Thursday night. The game was a scheduled late tip. not starting until 8 p.m. CT.
“Late-night games are tough,” Coach Yollet McPhee-McCuin said. “One of the things I really want to ask is that everyone comes out next Tuesday and Thursday and really helps support this team. This team is now 20-5, and we are trying to host. Bring more excitement to Oxford, and we are not going to be able to do that without the crowd. Next Tuesday and Thursday, Tennessee, then LSU. Those are two important games, and right now down the stretch we have to protect home court and steal one on the road.”
Ole Miss (20-5, 7-3 SEC) had four players in double figures, all led by Cotie McMahon with 21 points, as Latash Lattimore (17), Denim Deshields (12), and Sira Thienou (11).
“Cotie is generational, she is going to be a lottery pick,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Cotie is one of the best players in the SEC and in the country, in my opinion, and the numbers back it up.”
Lattimore had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“Tash will be the one who decides how far we go,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Because we expect Cotie to deliver night in and night out, we expect Sira to play with a passion as a sophomore. We really need Tash; she is going to be the one if she is aggressive and active, as she had five blocks tonight.”
Deshields hit four three-pointers in the game.
“Denim did a good job,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I thought the team did a good job getting to the pant and finding her. I thought she did a good job of knocking down shots, and if she can do that, it’s a difference maker for us too.”
Ole Miss finished the game going 8-for-28 beyond the arc.
Arkansas was led in scoring by Taleyah Jones with 16 points.
“Arkansas is a team that I respect a lot,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I probably have a soft spot for them, because I have been through a season where I didn’t have an SEC win, and I know how hard it is, but I don’t expect them to always be like that. Their coach does a great job. They were so disciplined, great body language.”
Ole Miss returns to action on Sunday as they travel to Lexington to take on the No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and can be seen on the SEC Network.