OXFORD — Danielle McCray grabbed a huge defensive rebound with 22.9 seconds remaining, and Nikki Byrd added two free throws with 19 seconds left to help the University of Mississippi women’s basketball team to a 60-54 victory against the University of Arkansas on Thursday night at Tad Smith Coliseum.
With the win, Ole Miss improved to 11-6 and 1-3 in the Southeastern Conference, while Arkansas fell to 11-5 and 0-4.
Byrd led Ole Miss with 16 points, while Valencia McFarland added 13 points and seven assists. McCray tied her career high with eight rebounds.
The Razorbacks built a 15-7 lead with 14 minutes, 15 seconds to play before a 3-pointer by McFarland cut the lead to 17-13 with 11 minutes remaining.
Arkansas again stretched its lead to nine before 3-pointers by McFarland and Whitney Hameth cut the deficit to 31-28 with 4:47 left in the first half.
A three-point play from Byrd with 57 seconds left in the half gave Ole Miss its first lead, 32-31, before the teams were tied at 33 at halftime.
McFarland led the Rebels with nine points on three 3-pointers, while Byrd had seven. Ole Miss shot 52.2 percent (12 of 23) from the field, while Arkansas shot 43.8 percent (14 of 32).
In the second half, the Rebels used a 13-0 run to take a 46-33 lead. They held the Razorbacks scoreless for the first 5:17 of the half. Arkansas used an 8-0 run to pull to make it 52-50 with 2:50 to play.
Ole Miss shot 47.8 percent (22 of 46) from the field.
Ole Miss will play at 2 p.m. Sunday at Alabama.
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