Women’s basketball plans to take on the Crimson Tide

The Ole Miss Women’s basketball team will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Thursday night. The Rebels are coming off an outstanding victory after defeating Kentucky 72-60 and snapping a six-game losing streak last week.  

Ole Miss is ranked at No. 11 in the SEC so far, and the team records a 8-7 overall record on the season with two wins and seven losses in conference. The Tide is ranked at No. 7 in the SEC, going 12-5 on the season with an even five wins and five losses in conference play. 

Key players for the Rebels will be forward Shakira Austin and freshman Madison Scott, as the two players were recognized with honors in the SEC this week. Austin was named the Co-SEC Player of the Week and Scott won her fourth SEC Freshman of the Week this season. The Rebels have had a player named Freshman of the Week six times this season. 

Redshirt junior Mimi Reed also stuck out during the Kentucky game as she totaled 14 points and four assists, grabbing her first double-double since December.

Redshirt sophomore Donnetta Johnson tallied 12 points on the night, while senior Valerie Nesbit tallied nine points, three rebounds and three assists. 

Meanwhile, Ole Miss needs to keep an eye on senior forward Jasmine Walker for the Tide. Walker leads the team in points and rebounds with 340 points and 170 rebounds this season. 

Alabama’s last game came to an 83-76 loss against No. 25 Georgia, leaving the Tide with a three-game losing streak. Walker put up 24 points and 12 rebounds against the Bulldogs.

The Alabama team has won the last six games in its matchups against Ole Miss. The last time the Rebels faced the Tide was on Feb. 2, 2020, when they lost by one point, 57-56. Out of all 60 matchups between these two teams, Ole Miss has brought home the win 33 of those times.  

In last year’s game, the Rebels put up an outstanding effort. However, a late fourth-quarter run from the Tide turned the favor to Alabama and left Ole Miss with the devastating loss. 

The game against the Tide will be played at 6 p.m. on Thursday night and will be broadcast live on the SEC Network+.