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Comeback falls short as Ole Miss women's basketball falls to South Carolina in SEC Tournament

aria gerson, mississippi clarion ledger
·2 min read

NASHVILLE — In its first SEC Tournament semifinals appearance since 1993, the Ole Miss women's basketball team put up a strong defensive effort against No. 1 South Carolina. But, like all but one team that has faced the Gamecocks this season, the Rebels couldn't win simply with effort.

Down by 23 at the start of the fourth quarter, Ole Miss clawed its way back with an inspired end-game performance as star center Shakira Austin came alive. Despite outscoring top-seeded South Carolina (29-1) in the fourth quarter, 21-8, the fourth-seeded Rebels (23-8 couldn't overcome their earlier deficit and fell, 61-51 at Bridgestone Arena.

Defensive effort

Ole Miss started off well defensively, getting three blocks in the first few possessions and keeping South Carolina's offense at bay for most of the first quarter. The Rebels were able to force two shot-clock violations and four turnovers in the quarter.

Like with most teams that face the Gamecocks, though, that couldn't hold. As the third quarter got underway, Ole Miss was unable to keep South Carolina from getting to the rim as the Gamecocks built up a lead.

At the same time, South Carolina was able to keep up its defensive intensity. It was a low-scoring game at halftime, 33-22, but the Gamecocks held Ole Miss to just eight points in the third quarter.

The Rebels found their defense again in the fourth quarter, holding South Carolina to multiple scoring droughts of two-plus minutes after trailing by 23 at the end of the third.

Baker and Austin show up

SEC Sixth Woman of the Year Angel Baker came off the bench as usual and provided one of the few sparks for the Rebels.

Baker scored 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting with one rebound.

Meanwhile, Austin, a First Team All-SEC selection, struggled offensively at first against SEC Player of the Year Aliyah Boston and 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso, but Austin found her groove later in the game. Austin scored 16 points with six rebounds and three blocks.

The Boston show

Boston, the National Player of the Year favorite, showed every bit of the star power she has this season. She extended her streak of consecutive double-doubles, already an SEC record, to 23.

Boston's performance was a bit quiet by her standards, but she still led the Gamecocks in points (15) and rebounds (12).

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss women's basketball falls to South Carolina in SEC Tournament semifinals