Arkansas Online

Rivalry talk

By Paul Boyd

Ole Miss women’s basketball Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin spouted confidence after the Rebels’ 86-71 victory over Mississippi State on Sunday, ending the Rebels’ 14-game losing streak to their biggest rival. “I think we showed who’s the best right now,” she said. “That’s us. We plan on doing that again when we go to Starkville.”

Ole Miss got off to a strong start and rolled over Mississippi State 86-71 on Sunday to snap a 14-game losing streak to its rival.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Ole Miss Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin told The Jackson Clarion-Ledger. “I think we showed who’s the best right now. That’s us. We plan on doing that again when we go to Starkville.

“It means a lot. It means a lot for the community. Every year I’ve been here we’ve beat ranked teams. And it wasn’t enough. Everyone would say, ‘Oh, when are we going to get those ‘Dogs?’ That’s what people want to know. That’s important to people.”

Shakira Austin, at 6-5, dominated to the tune of 21 points and 10 rebounds for Ole Miss against a smaller Bulldog lineup. Mississippi State managed back-to-back wins over Alabama and Vanderbilt despite a shorthanded roster because of covid-19 issues, but it wasn’t able to handle the Rebels.

Ole Miss used a suffocating defense to grab a 48-26 halftime lead. The Bulldogs had more first-half turnovers (13) than rebounds (12) or field goals (11). The Rebels poured it on in the second half for a 72-40 lead after three quarters to cruise to its first win over the Bulldogs since Feb. 23, 2014.

Ole Miss (15-2, 3-1 SEC) put together its second straight dominant performance after crushing Alabama 86-56 earlier in the week.

LSU keeps climbing

LSU moved up one spot to No. 11 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll after a 2-0 week, which was its highest ranking since they were No. 5 on Dec. 20, 2009.

LSU (17-2, 5-1 SEC) is idle today but faces back-toback road games at Florida and Arkansas. Post player Faustine Aifuwa and Alexis Morris scored 20 points each to lead four Tigers in double figures in their win over Vanderbilt on Sunday. LSU has continued to excel despite Autumn Newby, the team’s leading rebounder being sidelined indefinitely with an injury.

Tigers Coach Kim Mulkey said the inside game doesn’t always get as much attention because of the strong guard play, but they could be a key piece for the team.

”People talk about our guards as they should,” Mulkey said, “Sometimes I think they don’t get enough credit on how good they are. When our post play becomes a factor with the guards, who do you stop? What is your game plan against LSU? I think it just makes us a more difficult team to defend.”

Aggies snap skid

Texas A&M finally picked up an SEC win, and the Aggies (11-6, 1-4 SEC) did it by going inside against a smaller Auburn team.

The Aggies used a 21-2 second-quarter run to take control and cruised to the 71-53 win, which snapped a four-game losing streak. A&M opened SEC play with four losses for the first time, three of them on the road to top-ranked South Carolina, fifth-ranked Tennessee and 12th-ranked LSU.

Texas A&M Coach Gary Blair said his team were focused to win.

“Our kids just said, ‘Enough is enough. It’s time to start playing Aggie ball,” Blair told The Bryan Eagle.

Center Sydnee Roby poured in a career-high 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting off the bench to key the victory. The Aggies improved to 16-0 all-time vs. Auburn.

Briggs transfers

Florida guard Lavendar Briggs announced earlier this month on social media that her season was over because of an injury, but she will now be headed to a different team next season.

The 6-1 junior standout decided to enter the transfer portal less than a week after her season was ended because of a stress fracture. Earlier this week, she said she will continue her basketball career at Maryland.

Briggs had a breakout sophomore season for the Gators, averaging 19.4 points per game and earning second-team All-SEC honors.

Gators snapping

Florida (13-5, 3-2) used a big fourth-quarter surge to rally past Alabama on Sunday and win its third consecutive game.

The Crimson Tide took its biggest lead of the game, 66-57, with 8 minutes, 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter but couldn’t finish. Florida outscored Alabama 28-11 from that point to secure the win.

It’s the first time Florida has won three straight SEC games since the 2015-16 season.

Top players

South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston and Missouri’s Aijha Blackwell shared the SEC Player of the Week honor. Boston, who also won the award last week, set the school record for consecutive doubledoubles with her 10th and 11th straight last week. She registered a doubledouble by halftime against Texas A&M and added 19 points and 13 rebounds in the Gamecocks’ win over Arkansas. Blackwell has also recorded double-doubles in seven consecutive games and is tied for the lead nationally with 13. She put up 26 points and 17 rebounds against LSU and added 27 and 13 against Georgia last week.

Florida’s Alberte Rimdal scored a career-high 17 points on a perfect 6-of-6 performance from the field, including 5-of-5 from threepoint range, in 22 minutes in the Gators’ win over Alabama to earn the league’s Freshman of the Week honor.

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2022-01-20T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-20T08:00:00.0000000Z

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