Ole Miss Women's Basketball's Comeback Effort Falls Short vs. No. 15 Oklahoma

The Ole Miss Rebels suffered a home loss to the Oklahoma Sooners on Thursday night.

Mar 23, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Ole Miss Rebels head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin yells to her players in the first half against the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball failed to extend their winning streak on Thursday night as they dropped a 66-56 game to the No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners at the SJB Pavilion in Oxford.

The Rebels (15-7, 6-4 SEC) fell into a big hole early and trailed Oklahoma 24-9 at the end of the first quarter. An Ole Miss rally before halftime made it 31-29 at the intermission, however, and the Rebels were able to claim a 45-43 lead entering the fourth quarter. It was then that the Sooners were able to outscore the hosts 23-11 to seal the final score.

"I didn't even know who that team was," Rebels head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said of the first quarter performance. "We've had a lot of really good practices. Everybody knew what to do. So, not sure."

Ole Miss had four players reach double-digit point totals on Thursday night, led by Starr Jacobs with 15. She was followed by Madison Scott with 12 points, Christeen Iwuala with 11 and Sira Thienou with 10.

Coach Yo was asked after the game if it's harder to mount a comeback, lose the lead, and attempt another comeback, and she doesn't believe it is. She instead focused on what got her team in that situation in the first place on Thursday, and she wants a certain brand of leadership in her locker room to ensure that doesn't happen again.

"That's the position we put ourselves in in the first quarter," McPhee-McCuin said. "It's nothing you can do. You can't cry about it. We're playing these ranked teams, and we have to show a level of toughness. Until we do that, we're not going to come up with a victory."

As a team, the Rebels shot 34.9 percent from the field and went 0-for-12 from three in the loss. Oklahoma, by comparison, had a field goal percentage of 42.3 and shot 50 percent from three, and the Sooners finished the final 3:39 of the game on a 12-2 run.

Ole Miss will look to bounce back from this loss when it faces nationally-ranked Kentucky at the SJB Pavilion on Monday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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