Ole Miss players celebrate after beating Arkansas 63-62 in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Duluth, Ga., Wednesday. (Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics)
DULUTH, Ga. – Ole Miss finished the game on a 13-2 run capped by a tip in from senior Kenyotta Jenkins and earned a 62-63 win over Arkansas in the opening round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday (March 5). With the win, Ole Miss earns its first win in the SEC Tournament since 2009-10.
Trailing 60-50 with the 4:45 left in the game, Ole Miss (12-19) went to work. Tia Faleru started a 10-2 run with a jumper in the paint. Faleru’s buckets got her teammates Diara Moore and Valencia McFarland going as they both contributed crucial buckets.
Sharpshooter Gracie Frizzell knocked down a critical triple to give Ole Miss its first lead, 61-60, since early in the second half. Arkansas’ Jessica Jackson hit a bucket with under a minute remaining, but it was senior Jenkins who had other ideas and sealed the Rebel victory with a layup.
Faleru led Ole Miss with 16 points and a team-best six rebounds and was joined in double figures by seniors McFarland and Moore with 14 points each, while Jenkins added 10 points in the victory.
Ole Miss had one of its better shooting nights, going 47 percent from the floor although they lost the battle of the boards, 36-31.
The Rebels came out of the locker room and were led by senior Jenkins who had Ole Miss’ first six points out of halftime. In a game that was as close a game as you could get, featuring six ties and 12 lead changes, the lead was within two possessions for the majority of the half.
Ole Miss is back in action at the SEC Tournament on Thursday and will take on No. 6 seed Auburn Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. (ET) and will be televised on Sports South. Ole Miss and Auburn met just four days ago, with the Rebels taking a 73-71 overtime victory in Oxford.
