OXFORD — After trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, the University of Mississippi women’s basketball team used a huge second half to post a 71-59 come-from-behind victory against the University of Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon at Tad Smith Coliseum.
With the victory, Ole Miss improved to 5-2, while UMass fell to 2-8.
Diara Moore scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half, while Tia Faleru scored a career-high 17 points and Danielle McCray added a career-high 16. McFarland and Faleru each had five assists.
“We came out really flat and really lethargic,” Ole Miss acting coach Brett Frank said. “We got off to a really slow start, but fortunately, we had some key people step up for us.”
Ole Miss shot 39.1 percent (27 of 69), including 50.0 percent (19 of 38) in the second half. Faleru and Monique Jackson each had a team-high six rebounds.
Trailing 30-21 at halftime, Ole Miss scored six unanswered points and took its first lead, 34-33, on a 3-pointer by Moore with 17 minutes, 4 seconds remaining.
Another basket from Moore pushed Ole Miss’ lead to 48-40 with 7:56 remaining in the game.
Ole Miss will host Belmont at 2 p.m. Dec. 16. Free Ole Miss ornaments will be given to first 500 fans. Also, bring a toy, book, or bear for children of Ole Miss custodial staff and receive free admission.
n Chattanooga 72, Alabama 58: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Junior Ashlen Dewart had 19 points, and senior Kayla Christopher had 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Mocs (7-2) past the Crimson Tide (5-2) at Foster Auditorium.
“UTC is a very good team,” Alabama coach Wendell Hudson said. “They beat Tennessee up at their place by 10, so we knew it was going to be a very tough basketball game. You know, there’s no substitute for shooting the basketball. We caused 22 turnovers, and we’re doing a lot of things well but you have to score points in basketball.”
Crimson Tide sophomore Daisha Simmons had a game-high 20 points, while senior Alicia Mitcham had a team-high 10 rebounds and 11 points for her first double-double of the season.
In the opening minutes of the game, the two teams went basket-for-basket heading into the first media stoppage tied at 7-7. The Lady Mocs came out of the timeout outscoring the Tide 19-3 over the next five minutes of action. Alabama used an 8-0 run later in the half to set the score at 31-23, but Chattanooga responded with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to extend its lead back out to double digits. The Lady Mocs would head into halftime with a 41-27 advantage.
Chattanooga took its largest lead of the game at the 18:47 mark of the second half, pulling ahead by 17. From there, Alabama went on a 16-6 run over the next eight minutes of play, setting the score at 52-45. The Lady Mocs would score 12 of the next 15 points to push the game out of reach for the Tide.
Chattanooga shot 43.1 percent (28 of 65) from the field, including 40 percent (10 of 25) from 3-point range. Alabama shot 28.9 percent (22 of 76) and 22.7 percent (5 of 22) from 3-point range. The Lady Mocs also outrebounded the Tide 57-40.
“The last two games we haven’t shot the ball very well,” Hudson said. “We shot 22-76 today and that was the difference in the game. Look at our percentage and their percentage. Look at our 3-point percentage compared to theirs. Neither team made it to the free-throw line very much. They had to outrebound us because we missed so many shots.”
Alabama will play at 2 p.m. Saturday at Troy University.
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