Ole Miss WBB Captures Impressive First Round Win Over Gonzaga in NCAA Tournament

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – No. 19/20 Ole Miss women’s basketball led the entire way against Gonzaga en route to its first-round victory, 81-66, Friday afternoon to move on to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Rebels (24-11, 8-8 SEC) rode three strong quarters to achieve victory, building a lead to as high as 33 points over the Bulldogs (24-10, 14-4 WCC). Four Rebels reached double-digit points, including Cotie McMahon, who continues to make Ole Miss history with her scoring prowess.

The senior superstar recorded her 33rd game this season of double-digit points, which surpassed Ole Miss legend Peggie Gillom-Granderson, who did so in the 1979-80 season, for the most points of at least 10 points by a Rebel in a single season. She finished the day with 13 points paired with three rebounds, two assists, and a block and steal.

Ole Miss defensively dominated Gonzaga for the almost the entirety of the match. The Rebels rejected nine shots and committed 14 steals, both outdoing the Bulldogs numbers by more than double of both.

Ole Miss’ nine blocks is a program record for the most in a single NCAA Tournament game, the previous best was seven in round one of the 1995 tournament against Drake. Ole Miss dominance translated to lackluster offense from Gonzaga, whose 37 points through three quarters was a season low.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Women's Basketball.

Sira Thienou made a statement in her first game back from injury, scoring 12 points and leading the team in rebounds, blocks and steals with eight, four and three, respectively. Her block total is tied for the second most by an individual Rebel in a single NCAA Tournament game, matching the likes of Susan Byrd and Cynthia Autry. It’s the most blocks by a Rebel in a tournament since 1995.

Latasha Lattimore and Denim DeShields reached double digits as well. Lattimore scored a team-high 15 points, which included a pair of threes. DeShields also added two 3-pointers and a clutch and-one at the tail end of the third quarter to keep Ole Miss’ lead strong.

Debreasha Powe scored the first bucket of the game for the Rebels, an open corner three off a feed from Jayla Murray. Lattimore added to the scoring efforts with a trey of her own to push the Rebel lead to eight. Gonzaga didn’t score until midway through the first quarter, missing its first seven shots of the day while Ole Miss built its lead to double digits.

After the media timeout, the Bulldogs added a trio of quick buckets, including a 3-pointer, to reduce their deficit, but three consecutive free throws from the Rebels made their lead 20-9 to conclude the period.

Powe converted her second 3-pointer of the game in response to an early long ball from the Bulldogs in the second quarter. Gonzaga’s bucket kickstarted some momentum for the Bulldogs, as they went on a five-point scoring run to drop the Rebel’s lead to six.

Lattimore countered Gonzaga’s efforts by making back-to-back layups while getting fouled and making the free throw in her second attempt to put Ole Miss back ahead by 11.

After Gonzaga’s strong start in the second, it would proceed to shoot 1-for-7 over its next several shots, with a missed free throw in between. McMahon added a three to cushion Ole Miss’ lead in the waning seconds of the half to give it a 39-23 lead.

The Rebels had stifled the Bulldogs for most of the first half. Ole Miss had recorded six of its nine blocks for the day, four of which came from Thienou. At the half, Ole Miss had tied for the second-most blocks in an NCAA Tournament game in program history, with Thienou’s mark tying for the individual second most.

The Rebels had also recorded six steals while allowing none from the Bulldogs, en route to just two Ole Miss turnovers in the first half.

Ole Miss continued to pour it on in the second half thanks to strong post offense and second chance opportunities. A quartet of Rebels, led by Christeen Iwuala and Murray, converted seven layups by the media timeout. Gonzaga managed only a pair of threes in that span, which DeShields canceled half of with a long ball of her own.

The Rebels lead reached 32 points at its peak, as Ole Miss outscored Gonzaga 29-14 in the quarter alone. DeShields capped Ole Miss’ offensive outburst with an and-one in the final moments of the quarter, keeping the Rebel lead north of 30 at 68-37.

Gonzaga repaid Ole Miss with a strong offensive push in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs scored 29 points to trim their deficit, but it wouldn’t amount to a complete comeback as Ole Miss held on for the 81-66 win.

Ole Miss gets a day off before it takes on the second round, which will be against the winner between No. 4 Minnesota and No. 13 Green Bay on Sunday, March 22. Tipoff time and tv designation is set to be announced at a later time.

More Ole Miss News:

Georgia Bulldogs, Indiana Hoosiers Pushing to Flip Nation's No. 4 QB From Ole Miss

The SEC Tournament Bracket: Ole Miss Basketball Eyeing Upset Win Over Texas Longhorns

Ole Miss Football Recruiting Buzz: Rebels Poised for Massive Run of Commitments

Join the Community:

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and Ole Miss Rebels On SI: @OleMissOnSI for all coverage surrounding the Ole Miss program.