Texas A&M guard Curtyce Knox looks for an open teammate scoring in the second half.
Tyler Jackson I The Daily Mississippian
The Ole Miss women’s basketball team suffered its seventh straight loss last night, falling at the hands of No. 13 Texas A&M, 73-61.
Ole Miss (10-17, 1-12 Southeastern Conference) simply had no answer for the Aggies’ (21-6, 11-2 SEC) twin tower duo down low, as Texas A&M was led by post players Karla Gilbert and Courtney Williams. Williams led the Aggies in scoring, posting 26 points on 50 percent shooting, benefiting heavily from the attention the 6-foot-5 Gilbert drew from the Rebels’ defense. Gilbert posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Head coach Gary Blair pointed to Gilbert’s efficiency as the biggest factor in her effectiveness (8-10 FG, 5-6 FT). Blair also said that Gilbert may be “the most underrated post player in the country,” and lauded her defensive effort. “That stat (one block) is wrong. She had more than that,” Blair said.
Ole Miss went on a 9-0 run out of halftime to cut the lead to five roughly midway through the second half, but could get no closer. Rebel head coach Matt Insell said that he was proud of the fight his team showed, but gave credit to Blair for his second-half adjustments.
Senior point guard Valencia McFarland’s usual aggression was on display, but shot after shot seemed to either fall just short or rim out.
“I have to give credit to Texas A&M,” McFarland said. “They’re a great team and played great defense. I just had to be aggressive for my team and try to get the win.”
The Rebels were led in scoring by junior forward Tia Faleru, who put up a double-double and her 10th game of 20 or more points on the season, posting 21 points and 10 rebounds.
At this point the Rebels’ only hope of NCAA tournament action is winning the SEC tournament, a prospect that does not seem likely considering their 1-12 conference record. Insell was adamant that his team has not given up on the season.
“Losing has to hurt,” he said. “We’ve got to get in here tomorrow and Saturday with an attitude and ready to get better. We’ve got to be ready to go get a win against our rival on Sunday.”
The Rebels have two more road games, Sunday against Mississippi State and Thursday against Missouri, before finishing the regular season at home on March 2 against Auburn. Sunday’s game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
