Caleb HarrisNo. 4 seed Ole Miss failed to complete the come from behind victory to upset No. 1 South Carolina in the SEC Semifinals, losing 61-51. This was the third time both teams faced each other in the season, including a 29 point loss to South Carolina in January and a more recent 71-57 loss to South Carolina in the SJB Pavilion on Feb. 27.
Ole Miss was looking for the upset in their first semi-finals appearance since 1993, while South Carolina had hopes of reaching their 7th straight SEC conference title appearance.
After a strong defensive first quarter by both teams, the game started to slip for the Rebels. The deficit would grow as large as 20 points, but Ole Miss refused to give up. In the fourth quarter everything seemed to go right for the Rebels.
The stingy defense forced eight turnovers, which led them to extra possessions and was just what they needed to get senior center Shakira Austin and company going. Austin struggled to get things going through the first three quarters in the game, but came alive in the fourth
Austin scored 14 points in the fourth quarter alone and senior guard Angel Baker fought to keep the Rebels in the game. The Rebel offense needed all of Baker and Austin’s points to dig them out of the hole. The Rebels only scored 30 points in the first three quarters versus 21 points scored in the fourth.
Baker started out hot for the Rebels early in the game, contributing with eight of their first points Baker would finish with 20 points, going 9-15 from the FG and 2-4 from the three-point line.
Offense was at a premium this game, howeverOle Miss wasn’t able to get things going offensively throughout most of the game. They shot 34% from the field, 33% from the three-point line and made only 50% of their free throws.
The most shocking stat was that Ole Miss got outrebounded by the Gamecocks 44-28. South Carolina controlled the glass and tempo, which made things difficult for the Rebels to climb back out on top.
Even with the game seemingly lost, the Rebel defense kept South Carolina under 65 points.
South Carolina only shot 16% from the three-point line, going 2-12 thanks to tight perimeter defense by Ole Miss. But the strong third quarter would help sustain South Carolina despite the fourth quarter effort by Ole Miss.
The season is not lost for the Lady Rebels. They will be in the NCAA Tournament in the coming weeks but will have to await the selection show to see where they will land.
