The physical Rebels celebrate a play versus Gonzaga at the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The No. 5 seed Ole Miss women dictated, disrupted and dominated its first-round NCAA Tournament game versus 12th-seed Gonzaga on Thursday in Minneapolis, Minn. The Rebels defeated the Bulldogs in lopsided fashion, 81-66, to advance to play the winner of Friday’s other first-round game between host and No. 4 seed Minnesota and No. 13-seed Green Bay.
That game, with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line, will be played Sunday from Minneapolis. That game will be televised on ESPNU at a time yet to be announced.
Ole Miss improved to 24-11, while Gonzaga ended its season with a record of 24-10.
BOX SCORE | https://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=656043
It was hardly a fair fight on Friday for Ole Miss, as four Rebels scored in double figures, the entire team put forth a smothering defensive effort and starters received some valuable rest during tournament time. All-American Cotie McMahon scored 13 points despite playing just 22 minutes before her day was done. Latasha Lattimore also scored a team-high 15 in just 19 minutes of action.
Returning from a lower-body injury that sidelined her for the SEC Tournament, Sira Thienou scored 12 points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds with four blocked shots and three steals in 22 minutes of playing time.
Ole Miss jumped out to an 8-0 lead and led 20-9 after one quarter. The Rebels took a 39-23 advantage over Gonzaga into the half. The Rebs held a 68-37 advantage as action moved into the final quarter.
With the game well in hand, McPhee-McCuin benched her starters for most of the final period. Gonzaga assembled a 22-3 run in the fourth quarter versus the Rebel reserves. There was no doubt McPhee-McCuin elected to lay off the gas and rest and protect her starters for Sunday’s game with a trip top the Sweet 16 on the line.
More coming on the Rebels’ NCAA Tournament win over Gonzaga on OleMiss365.com.