Gracie Frizzell shoots past Antoinette Bannister during the Florida game. Photo: Ignacio Murillo, The Daily Mississippian.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Trailing 75-72 with six seconds left, the Ole Miss women’s basketball team had a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime with a three from freshman Shequila Joseph, but it fell just short as the Rebels fell to Mizzou on Thursday (Feb. 27).
The final three minutes of the game were a battle to the very end with the lead changing hands four times. Ole Miss took a 70-69 lead on a bucket from Danielle McCray with 2:55 remaining and extended it to two with a free throw from Diara Moore before the home team sealed the win.
Moore led the Ole Miss offense with 23 points, two points off her career-high and added nine rebounds to lead the defense. Valencia McFarland had 19 points and Tia Faleru added 11 points and eight rebounds, scoring all of her points in the second half.
Mizzou opened the second half with a 15-7 run, which included seven straight points but a Tia Faleru bucket snapped the run but the Tigers took the lead, 44-41, on a Morgan Eye triple just before the under 16 media timeout.
Not to be discouraged, the Rebels got the ball to Valencia McFarland who promptly drained her second try of the night and tied the game for the 10th time.
With the game tied at 44 at the 15:20 mark, the home team went on a 9-2 run on three straight triples to take a 53-46 lead but Ole Miss countered with a 6-0 run to make it a one possession game midway through the half.
Both teams came out and shot the ball really well, including the three ball as Ole Miss and Missouri combined for five triples in the opening four minutes of action. McFarland, Danielle McCray and Shequila Joseph each had one triple early.
With the score remaining close early, it was the Ole Miss defense that set them apart. Ole Miss forced the home team into 11 first half turnovers and with the game tied at 16 used a 5-0 spurt to pull ahead by five which forced the Tigers to call a timeout. Out of the break, Missouri scored five straight to tie the game at 21 and from the 7:34 mark the teams traded buckets.
A late jumper from Moore and layup from Kenyotta Jenkins with 33 seconds left on the clock gave the Rebels a 34-29 halftime lead. The first half was a chess match for sure, with eight lead changes and nine ties.
— Ole Miss Sports Information
