Vanderbilt loses a tough battle to Ole Miss
Birmingham, Ala – Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., was the setting today for a Top 25 matchup between the No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodores and the No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels. This has been an unusual week for both programs as Winter Storm Fern has changed the routine for both programs. However, after the 83-75 loss coach wasn’t giving that any reason or excuse whatsoever for today’s output.
It’s been five days since Vanderbilt last saw the floor in Columbia, S.C., and today they came out with a good plan to attack and create high percentage shots in the first few minutes, as Mikayla Blakes had nine in the first quarter, and those nine weren’t easy. Ole Miss was not lacking in defensive pressure whatsoever.
On the flip side, Ole Miss is a good shooting team, midrange, outside, and getting to the paint. They displayed that early on and led 23-15 after the first quarter and shot 55.6 percent. Cotie McMahon was the force for the Rebels. She did a good job of scoring off the drive.
The Rebels led for 14:58 in the first half, as Vanderbilt just could not get the uncharacteristic miscues out of their way. Vanderbilt recorded 12 turnovers in the first half, and that cost them as Ole Miss scored 15 off of those.
The Rebels’ ability to get to the paint and score was big. 28 of their 44 first half points came from the paint. Christeen Iwuala posted a double double in the first 20 minutes with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Her dominance in the paint and on the boards were crucial to the Rebels’ success.
With a 44-25 deficit at the half, the Commodores would need to find some kind of success to create shots for someone other than Blakes, and slow down the Rebels’ attack. Ole Miss was aggressive on both ends, and took what Vanderbilt gave them.
The Dores had to get someone else going in this game offensively, and Aubrey Galvan came out after half with four quick points to take her total to nine in the first minute, followed by a mid range jumper from Justine Pissott who was scoreless in the first half after only taking two shots.
Vanderbilt looked like a new team after half. They came out to an 11-1 run in the first three and a half minutes to cut Ole Miss’ lead to 46-36 going into the media timeout. Vanderbilt looked fed up with the mess, and showed the fight. The Commodores totally flipped the paint game in the third and scored 22 points in the paint in the third quarter to Ole Miss’ four.
Mikayla Blakes went to work with 11 points in that quarter to help pull the Dores to a 60-51 deficit after three. The vibe of this game had totally changed from what the first half was. The grit and grind was there, and they looked like the Vanderbilt team we have seen. They also forced seven Ole Miss turnovers in the quarter to turn them into 14 points.
Aubrey Galvan started to find her game as well, and shot 3-for-4 in third to pull her total to 11, and she continued right into the fourth quarter taking it to the Rebels in the paint. Galvan would not be denied, and this turned into a tight game as we knew it had the potential to be.
With Sacha Washington on the bench with four fouls, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda came up huge in the second half and gave Vanderbilt a 67-64 lead midway through the fourth on an and one, after Justine Pissott tied it up with her first three of the game. Mwenentanda’s defensive pressure and ability to work on the boards was what Vanderbilt needed. Ndjakalenga would finish the day with 11 points with five rebounds.
Ole Miss jumped back up 71-67, but Justine Pissott came through again as she buried another three to cut it to a one point Ole Miss lead. After Ole Miss jumped up to a 75-70 lead, Aubrey Galvan would drain a three to cut it to two, but Latasha Lattimore would take it back to a four point lead with 1:13 left.
Vanderbilt needed to make some stops in the last minute, but the Rebels were able to score enough down the stretch to keep the commodores off, 83-75.
The Ole Miss Rebels came out and were dominant for a half, and made enough plays late to pull the upset off. Cotie McMahon’s 27 and Christeen Iwuala’s double-double of 18 points with 14 rebounds were huge players in this one.
This was a game of two halves for the Commodores, and while they put up a gritty effort they were not able to make a couple of more stops late to pull off the complete comeback and win. Mikayla Blakes finished the day with 29 points, five rebounds, and four assists in 40 minutes of play. Aubrey Galvan added 18.
Now, the Commodores will finally get back home to Nashville, for a quick turnaround on Sunday as they host the Florida Gators. This team has to find the grit and fight from the jump. Today’s loss was a result of a total lack of functional play in the first half, and the Commodores were outmatched in bench production.
They finished with zero in that category to Ole Miss’ 16. As the season goes on and we get deeper into SEC play and then tournament time, depth will be needed tremendously. Both Mikayla Blakes and Aubrey Galvan played 40 minutes each today. It is great that they can play every minute, but they also need some back up as well.
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