Mike Siroky’s SEC Report: At Last Everyone Under Way in League Play

By Mike Siroky

 

Tennessee and Ole Miss cleared Covid delays and started their SEC seasons.

 

 Both won, UT twice. 

 

Ole Miss had lost 22 straight in the league. 

 

Tennessee pulled the first upset in the league. Vanderbilt got started on Sunday and lost.

 

South Carolina had a one-game Covid break. 

 

‘‘It’s not game day but we woke up alive,” coach Dawn Staley said. “ We appreciate your thoughts and prayers.”

 

Missouri, with only seven games played, lost another due to Covid.

 

As we look to a proposed minimum number of 13 games played if there is a national interruption, these are important games.

 

 Vanderbilt had played half as many games as two of the ranked teams.

 

A major national game, UConn at Baylor, was eliminated because the Baylor coach tested positive.’

 

Kentucky was honored by a national sport website when it selected coach Kyra Elzy and star guard Rhyne Howard as the national coach and player of the week by a voting panel of one writer.

 

 Howard was the Naismith player of the week and the conference player of the week. 

 

The United States Basketball Writers Association start ed a weekly team honor by also choosing Kentucky. 

 

Heady stuff for the third-best league team in the national rankings.

 

Heady stuff, So, of course, UK lost twice and fell two spots in the poll, which is sorta why these mid-season awards carry little actual weight and are awarded by folks who didn’t actually see the participants. 

 

The ESPN awards are selected  by a committee of one.

 

Howard joins Ricka Jackson (Mississippi State) and N’dea Jones (Texas A&M) on the midseason cut list for the Wooden Award.

 

Tennessee graduate Michele Marciniak is the only female basketball player among seven former college student-athletes who will receive the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in recognition of their collegiate and professional achievements, as well as their civic contributions.

 

 The award annually recognizes distinguished individuals on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their college athletics careers. The honorees are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, composed of representatives of NCAA member schools, conferences and distinguished citizens, including past awardees.

 

 Marciniak played her freshman season at Notre Dame before fleeing an unsupportive Muffet McGraw for the welcoming program at UT.  She was the Final Four MVP for the national champions.

 

Three games matching ranked teams insured there would be losers. Kentucky and A&M played only ranked teams.

 

Texas A&M: The No. 7 Aggies took on No. 11 Kentucky in the conference game of the early week. It was UK’s third straight game against a ranked team.

 

 This one was unbeaten. A&M leads the league at 12-0.

 

Jordan Nixon started 4-for-4 for A&M and had 11 in the opening quarter. Zaay Green was unavailable, so the Aggies had to be a little more deliberate. Rhyne Howard scored six in the quarter, 4-of-5 from the field. Kentucky led, 21-18.

 

They stretched it to seven, but A&M fought back. Coach Gary Blair shucked his jacket with two minutes left and A&M tied it at 30.

 

Aaliyah Wilson had 11 points, matching Nixon, N’dea Jones had eight rebounds. The half ended 31-all.

 

 Howard had a dozen points.

 

It all changed in the second half.

 

This may have played out as the most veteran coaching clan in the league against a first-year coaching staff.

 

A&M was delighted to get to halftime.

 

Blair said, “We learned Kentucky outplayed us in the first half we were lucky to be tied.”

 

It was 47-all with two minutes to go in the third. Destiny Pitts made two free throws and A&M was never tied again.

 

Wilson fed Cierra Johnson for a layup. Jones got another defensive rebound. Pitts fed Nixon for a jumper.

 

Kentucky did not score for the final 4:38.

 

Came the fourth, Nixon opened scoring with a 3, then was fouled on a 3 and made all three free throws.

 

Blair Green finally scored for UK with 7:18 left but that still left them 12 behind.

 

UK made two free throws, but Pitts hit a 3.

 

Howard finally resurfaced with a free throw after A&M had scored several more.

 

That was pretty much it. The final, 77-60 is UK’s lowest score of the season and ends the 9-0 start.

 

Howard ended with 22.

 

“Give credit to A&M,” said UK coach Kyra Elzy. “They played hard tonight. They pushed the ball and transitioned offense and defensively they were switching it up. They were physical.

 

“We did not execute like we have been doing this season. We usually have a balance scoring, some shots we usually hit we didn’t hit tonight. But also, we didn’t run our plays all the way through. I also thought that we were a little too rushed. Credit to Texas A&M.”

 

 Howard said, “Definitely give credit to them for playing defense but I think we did get a little gassed and started taking quick outside shots instead of in the first half as we were taking it in and trying to get easy layups and stuff like that.”

 

Jones had a dozen points and a dozen rebounds. That ties the school record for doubles at 33.

 

Nixon had 19, Wilson 18, Johnson 7-of-8 for 14.  They caused 16 turnovers.

 

Blair said Nixon brings an important skill.

 

“Between the ears she has no fear. Typical New York City kid. You don’t have to be the tallest, the fastest, jump the highest. You keep your head up and play.

 

“We shot 72 percent in the fourth quarter. Give us a lot of credit. Jordan played more (minutes) than she has and that’s tough. N’dea made Howard earn everything she ever got.

 

“We got the ball inside to Cierra.

 

”Look at the difference in the boards,  that usually tells the story. Look at the free throws, 18 out of 19.

 

“Once it came down and they were taking our first option and second option away, we had to play better, play under pressure.  Am proud of my team right now.

 

“ It’s not about the we, it’s about the we.

 

“A&M is famous for the 12th man. When you are called, it’s what can you do to step up.

 

“Togetherness. We share. I got assistant coaches that are so very good. At halftime, we drew some things up on the board. We added a few traps the second half to get the ball out of Howard’s hands.

“ Tonight we just worked hard. That’s all we are, we just work hard.

 

“Our next four opponents, we lost to all of them last year. OK, this is our payback tour, we’re doing the Paul McCartney Payback Tour  and I’m McCartney.”

 

They played another ranked team when No. 11 Arkansas visited, their second ranked teams matchup of the season.

 

While men are suddenly the large minority of league coaches, it is still no surprise the two of the longest-serving coaches are men whose programs are also two of the top three in the standings.

 

Neighbors started life as an assistant to Gary Blair and Blair broke the league with a decade at Arkansas.

 

So it is always a fun rivalry. Both have avoided major Covid cancellations. Bothe already had 10 wins.

 

 Amber Ramirez was nursing an injury and was unavailable on the Arkansas frontline.

 

Jailyn Mason hit a 3 and it was an 8-3 start for Arkansas. Then A&M won the quarter on a 19-8 splurge by  spreading it around.

 

 Every Aggie starter scored, led by Wilson’s 10, including a 3. Chelsea Dungee scored six for the Hogs, two 3s. Arkansas had already launched 10 3 attempts.

 

In the second, Cierra Johnson’s layup on an assist by Jones kept the lead at six with six minutes left in the half.  A&M kept answering everything Arkansas did , but not pulling away as Blair plotted his halftime adjustments.

 

A&M was hitting 54 percent from the floor, 12 percentage points better.

 

Arkansas pulled even at 36.

 

 N’dea Jones hit a layup assisted by Wilson for a two-point A&M lead at the break. Wilson had 12, 5-of-9 from the field with two 3s. 

 

For Arkansas, Makayla Dainels had 11, 3-of-5 3s. Destiny Slocum had 10. Arkansas had eight 3s, A&M six. A&M had eight assists on 14 baskets.

 

Starting with six points because three fouls limited her to 12 minutes, Dungee scored the first five in the first minute of the third and Blair called time out. 

 

Neighbors had stayed with his game plan; they had 20 3 attempts already.

 

Dungee was up to 14 at the end of the third, 56-50 A&M. 

 

Wilson had 20 for the leaders. Jones had a school-best 34th double, 11 rebounds and 10 points. Daniels was fouled hard at the buzzer but a held ball was unexpectedly called.  Arkansas was hitting 39 percent the field, still 10 percentage points behind the visitors.

Daniels took another WWE hit and then Dungee was body slammed by Jones. 

 

Mason hit a 3 to become the fourth Razorback in double figures and tie it at 56 with 7:40 left.

 

Slocum fed Erynn Barnum wide open for a layin. Then she attracted an offensive foul.

 

 Dungee was fouled by a strangely quiet Jordan Nixon. Dungee attracted a  charge. The Aggies had yet to score in the quarter and had four turnovers.

 

Arkansas was on an 11-0 run, topped by another Dungee 3, smooth style winning over brutality. A third offensive foul on A&M gave Dungee another possession.

 

 She was fouled and hit two free throws. She has hit more free throws than any player in America, but only had two attempts so far.

 

Slocum hit a 3. Wilson answered.

 

 Dungee was fouled on a drive and hit both again. It marked another 20 point game for Dungee, every game in the SEC season.

 

It was 69-68 with a minute to go. Slocum created space and fed Barnum for a layup. Barnum boxed out on the next A&M possession with 46 seconds left.

 

A&M had been winning by 21 points per game. Mason hit a 3 with 30 seconds left. Nixon drove in and was fouled, 73-72. Dungee drove into trouble and turned it over, her ninth.

 

Twenty-three seconds left and down by one after losing the quarter by seven, A&M had a great chance.

 Nixon was caught and threw up an answered prayer off the glass.

 

That was the difference, in the 74-73 win. Wilson had 2, a season high. Dungee had 21. Arkansas hit 14 3s, five by Dungee.

 

They started the SEC 1-2.

 

“Neighbors said, “It’s my fault, I should have organized the end better. I haven’t been in this locker room for four years. But I went in an told them how proud of them I am.

 

“They’re a great team, we’re a good team and may get there yet. We always play our best at the end of the season. We fought through it. It should not have come down to the final 23. We should have forced them to foul us.”

 

A&M has now matched the start of its National Championship team, a school record.

 

Blair said he needed to use other options, especially because Wilson had some leg pain which slowed her.

 

“But give us credit  because when they took our second and third operation away, we had to use the guards more. It was just a great basketball game, both sides, could’ve gone either way, two teams in the Top 13.

 

“I am just trying to win the next game. Now we go to Baton Rouge, where we have lost four straight times.”

 

Nixon played 39 minutes. “She has to do what she did, she has to make the shots,” said Blair.

 

Nixon said of the last shot, “We always want the best shot possible, that’s what came out of it.  We always said bring our best in the SEC. We were able to play defense and put up shots.”

 

South Carolina: No. 5 in the nation, started what was scheduled as a three-game workweek at overmatched Alabama. The 77-60 win ended the pretense of an unbeaten season and showed the non-conference season was more sizzle than steak.

 

Alabama hung in at the start, a 15-all tie. The Tide was led by senior Jasmine Walker with eight of those, including two 3s.  SC spread the points out. 

 

Even an unconscionable shot clock violation still let SC lead at the first  break, 20-17 on a  buzzer shot by Zia Cooke, SC’s best scorer right now who was told by coach Dawn Staley to run the team.

 

SC was only hitting 38  percent from the floor but led rebounds by five.

 

 SC went tall, with 6-2 senior LeLe Grissett and 6-2 junior  Victoria Saxton joining 6-5 sophomore Aliyah Boston and 6-1 Brea Beal. 

 

Cooke is 5-9, but she was replaced by 6-4 Laeticia Amihere. 

 

Two Alabama starters had two fouls and sat down with six and a half left in the second, the Tide down 26-17. 

 

Alabama finally scored in the quarter having missed nine straight, at the five-minute mark.

 

SC’s lineup led to 26 points in the paint and an 11-point halftime lead off a 9-0 streak.

 

 It was not a stellar half for either side. 

 

Adjustments were needed. Cooke, for instance, had two fouls and just four points after starting 1-for-6.

 

 Her scoring average is 18.9.

 

 Alabama could not get the final shot off and finished the quarter with a deadly single-digit mark of nine.

 

  An overly aggressive defense had Alabama ahead in fouls, 11-5.  SC had adjusted its shooting, all underneath, to 62 percent from the floor.

 

Destiny Henderson scored 11 in the half for SC.  Alabama’s Jasmine Walker also had 11.

 

The third quarter showed SC needed only to play its game in a 22-19 advantage.  Henderson was up to 18 and Saxton 15.

 

The fourth was more of the same. Cooke rising to 11 points. Rebounds were 55-30 SC. They average 19 more per game, tops in the SEC.

 

 Jordan Lewis matched her career high for the Tide with 28, including 7-of-9 from the line. Alabama had 18 fouls to 8 for SC. 

 

Carolina led by 14 with 5:26 left, even after missing five straight shots. Alabama’s undefeated flight was done.

 

Henderson took the game over with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Cooke overcame a sad start to finish with 18. On an off night for Aliyah Boston, they filled in admirably for a fourth straight win, no league losses in two seasons.

 

“Henderson said she was happiest with her assists. “The further we go, the more we recognize how to play together. Go all-out for 40 minutes. We take pride in our defense, just taking care of the basketball. (Staley) is very hard on us, but that’s just because she wants us to be the best we can be.”

 

Staley talked more of the mind game and adjusting to a basketball made by Nike instead of Wilson.

 

 “At times we were pretty focused,” she said, “At times we weren’t. We don’t like it, but it is to be expected. We say it every game. Every team in the SEC has more than one player that can hurt you.

 

“ (Rebounds) is an area in which we can be very good. If we can make the layup, then we can take control earlier. Alabama made us pay for it. As we move along in the league, I don’t want us to pay for it.

 

“ We are a very good rebounding team, bar none.

 

“Destiny is playing tempo. When she does that, she is very good.   It was great to see her getting going.

 

 “That is good for our basketball team. But if stay where we are today, our defensive lapses will not let us defend our championship and an early exit.”

 

The next two games were postponed as Covid overtook the SC campus. The football team had opted out of its bowl assignment and the men’s basketball had issues as well.

 

It broke well for Georgia, which would have lost.

 

The game at then-No. 10 Kentucky had national implications.

 

Attendance at UK is limited to 15 percent capacity. The tickets have all been scarfed up by big donors.

 

 Which means no student fans, another reduction of atmosphere. The athletes have to motivate themselves.

 

The Wildcats led at the half against visiting SC, 41-32. Rhyne Howard went off with 19 points.

Boston had 10 and Henderson 15 at the half.

 

The veteran coach outdid the first-year coach after that. A 25-15 third was followed by an 18-14 fourth and the Kats were subdued at home, 75-70.

 

 SC has not lost a league game in two seasons. UK ended the third being shutout for the final 9:02.

 

Howard scored 13 after hafltime. UK got 12 points from Dre'una Edwards  with seven rebounds and another 12 points from Chasity Patterson.

 

 The Cats forced 18 South Carolina turnovers and turned those into 22 points. But the Gamecocks dominated the rebounding battle, 46-31.

 

 South Carolina had 23 second-chance points; 10 for Kentucky. The Gamecocks had 56 points in the paint, compared to 34 for the Kats.

 

 South Carolina started the second half with an 8-2 run to cut the UK lead to 43-40 with 7:20 left in the third. Kentucky then scored five of the next six, including a three-point play by Howard, to stretch the advantage to 48-41.

 

 Kentucky led 56-48 late in the third before South Carolina scored the final nine points of the period to take a 57-56 into the fourth.

 

 Howard scored the first basket of the fourth , but South Carolina would ran off eight straight points to grab a 65-58 advantage with 7:21 to go, forcing a Kentucky timeout.

 

 Kentucky got a basket from Howard out of the timeout, but South Carolina got four points in a row from Destanni Henderson to grab their biggest lead, 69-60, with 4:29 to play.

 

 Patterson scored eight in a row, including back-to-back three-pointers, to cut the deficit to 69-68 with 2:31 to play.

 

South Carolina stretched the lead to 73-70 on a LeLe Grissett layup with 1:54 to play but Howard got the Kats back to 71-70, on a pair of free throws with 90 seconds left.

 

 SC missed a pair of free throws with 25 seconds to play. Howard's off-balance 3 missed, as did Edwards' put back attempt and the Gamecocks got the rebound.

 

 South Carolina's Zia Cooke was fouled with 10.3 seconds left and made both free throws to set the final score. 

 

The loss traditionally would assure UK it will not win the league this season. One historical test is to win all your home games. Since SC won all its league games last season, there is a higher standard. Among the top teams, Arkansas also failed.

 

Boston finished with 20, doubled with 12 rebounds. SC won rebounds by 15. Henderson scored 22.

 

Boston said, “Third quarter, we just had to bring it. I’ve definitely working my game, so when they double or triple team me I can go outside.

 

 

“Henny (Henderson)  is definitely running the team. We had one day to prepare, when they told us there would be cleared to play a game. We excited to come here and play.”

 

Staley said, “You look at the first half and it did not look like were in synch. We made a lot of mistakes that led to uncontested layups.

 

“I am never going to say we did not have enough prep time. I would never use that as an excuse, We just found a way to win.

 

“What we saw (Boston) was she was actually able to play extended minutes. I could hear her tell (teammates) to slow down or to run it. When Aliyah Boston can play Aliyah Boston basketball . . .

 

“Defensively, there are some things that have to be apparent every time we step out on the floor to be disruptive. 

 

“A game like this makes us stronger, to be able to pivot and play the hand that is dealt to us.”

 

UK coach Kyra Elzy said, “I love the resiliency of this team. For three and a half quarters, we played high-caliber basketball. Our small mental lapses expose you. Against high-caliber teams we cannot do that. So we have to get better.

 

“We came here to win. We were not going to play afraid, We were going to play aggressive. We pushed the tempo. Ryan hit some shots that kept our offense moving.

 

“Even one-on-one defense we proved early. We have the pieces, we have the chance to take our team to the next level.

 

“But there are small things we need to fix.

 

“We have people who can score. It might be different players every game and that’s OK. I am more disappointed in our transition defense. It cost us tonight.”

 

Saying she thinks she is the best player in women’s college basketball, Howard said, “They definitely outplayed us. They just kept driving it down our throats and we couldn’t stop it.”

 

Arkansas went to Tennessee. And lost. They eventually fell four spots in the poll, to No. 17.

 

The Lady Vols only had two days of full strength workouts to prepare. Coach Kellie Harper said she was able to work with some individuals. Arkansas was one of three teams in America with 12 games of experience, five more than UT.

 

Rae Burrell is the star of UT, though everyone is waiting for the explosion from Rennia Davis. This happens with a coaching change.

 

Tennessee is still the tallest lineup in the league, which set up a catch and shoot Razorbacks vs. the Lady Vol inside game.

 

It was 7-2, Arkansas, but UT rallied as the bombs stopped hitting and Burrell kept shooting. 

 

Chelsea Dungee, as usual, was pacing Arkansas with 10. The Lady Vols were running their plays better. It was 18-17, Tennessee, after one quarter. Arkansas was 2-of-10 from 3s in its lowest scoring quarter of the season.

 

The score pinballed back and forth, no one seizing momentum. It was 29-all for a time. 

 

Dungee took a full body foul from Davis, landing hard on her stomach. She hit a free throw to untie it.

 

 She scored eight in the half.

 

Arkansas was foiled on a 2-on-1 fastbreak. UT led by five inside of two minutes, with more energy.

 

 Arkansas kept feeding Dungee. She kept Arkansas in it. But they were limited to one shot per possession, 35 percent from the field, by the Lady Vols. UT fashioned a seven-point halftime lead in a jumper by Davis, her 14th points.

 

In the third, they maintained a nine-point lead.

 

 Dungee had yet to hit a 3.

 

 Taylah Thomas one of the few true Arkansas forwards, was lost among the trees. 

 

But Arkansas had not yet folded.

 

 Dungee missed another one-and-done.  She had 19, but three other starts had zero. The lead grew to 13.

 

 Dungee hustled to save a miss out of bounds, but threw it right Davis for a layup. 

 

It was fast slipping away from Arkansas with the 3s not falling (7-of-21). The lead was 17. Burrell had 17 as the second UT scorer and that was all the difference. 

 

They were not allowing any runouts while hitting 5-of-6 from the floor in the 70-55 quarter.

 

Not much changed the rest of the way. UT won way too easily,  88-73.

 

 Dungee scored a season-high 30, more than 10 above her average, but she was 9-of-26. 

 

Destiny Slocum scored 27, Amber Ramirez 15.

 

Rennia Davis said she was just ready and her teammates got her the ball. She scored 26, as did Burrell.

 

 Davis had 11 rebounds , the most by any Lady Vol ever, 33, and five assists.

 

“We have to not schedule teams whose shortest player is taller than our tallest,” said Neighbors. “We have to do us better, hustle plays, energy plays. 

 

‘’Team that is able put length on us and size.

 

“Every one of the teas  picked in the top seven we are on the road. I’ve been picking them Top 25 in the polls.

“We have got to be better. No points off the bench. That stings. They didn’t give us what we normally do. We’ve got to  get some confidence going in our league.

 

“ We’re gonna need them. We have go to work on energy, Traveling the day of the game makes you feel different. I know I feel different,”

 

Tennessee is 33-6 all-time in its first SEC game of a season, including 18-3 at home. 

 

The Lady Vols have won seven straight SEC openers, 5-0 in SEC openers vs. Arkansas, including 4-0 in Knoxville. 

 

Tennessee had no upset of ranked teams last season once the conference started. The Razorbacks, No. 11, had led the league teams in scoring at 88.9. .So they were 16 below their average.

 

Mississippi State went to  Florida, bad for the Gators in that they have started the conference with four of five games against ranked teams. If the schedule actually plays out, that won’t happen again this season. The No. 14 Bulldogs started with a mini run of five.

 

State substituted early, Alexis Matharu in the first few minutes.

 

 Florida was shut out for two minutes, 0-for-5. It was 12-9 with four minutes left in the quarter. Rickea Jackson fumbled it out of bounds for State, but recovered with a steal and a scoring drive. She then buried a 3.

 

One mismatch was 6-5 freshman.

 

 Floor Toonders from the Netherlands guarded by 5-7 Matharu.

 

State maintained a lead of 21-13 at the quarter break. State was hitting 62 percent from the field.

 

The trends had been set. 

 

Florida will soon be more competitive. They are in the gaggle for sixth-best in the league. But now it is tough to make up a deficit after one.

 

Jackson had 10 in the quarter. 

 

But Matharu twisted her ankle and was limited. The Bulldogs maintained an 11-point advantage when Jamaya Mingo-Young hit on back-to-back drives. Jessika Carter had nine rebounds and 11 points for State.

 

Florida had come up with another 2:40 drought against the State defense, 1-of-7.  It was 38-27 at the half.  Lavender Briggs, the Gators’ force a second season, led Florida with 10, two 3s.

 

Jackson scored first in the third quarter. The lead reached 15. The Bulldogs maintained it. It was 52-40 after three. It didn’t seem as if Florida had a rally in itself It ended 68-52.

 

“We committed to rebounding,” said coach Nikki McCray-Penson. “It was great to the things better we needed to do.

 

“We guarded the ball better, Jessika got deep in the paint. When I took this job I said I wanted to play inside out. We need her to do that. I just want her to be her.”

 

Jackson, a league Player of the Year candidate, is averaging a team-best 17.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

 

Teammate Jessika Carter is 14th among active Division I players in career field goal percentage, .569. She is second in scoring, 16.4 and rebounds leader, 8.5.

 

“We're fighting. We're competing. It's just not as focused and as aggressive as we need to be at times,” said Florida coach Cam Newbauer. 

 

“ But in terms of just the fight, the fight is there. We just need to cut more breaks to go our way, but we create those breaks. We just got to be a little more locked in and focused and execute a little better on some possessions.”

 

Brigggs scored 26 and Faith Dut 10.

 

“Faith was ultra aggressive tonight, “ Newbauer said of his sophmore. “She's still coming into her own. Figuring out moments where she can shoot the 3. She hit two the other day. Hit some a lot in practice. That's something she's really worked on so I am confident she can hit those shots.

 

“We had really good moments today, but not enough. Not enough moments as a whole."

 

Dut said, "I think, for a long time, our word has been ‘fight.’ I think every game we are getting better at that. Just trying to tighten up on some things.

 

“ Obviously, all teams have their challenges and things like that. And I think I'm just really proud of us for pushing through and being resilient through it all. We gotta fight every single game."

 

State ended the conference workweek with the annual home walkover against Ole Miss. It was a 12-all first quarter.

 

Carter and Matharu each had 16 by the end of three during an 8-0 run. Sophomore Donetta Johnson had 15 for Ole Miss.

 

Ole Miss went on a 10-0 run in the fourth to cut it to two while State went 0-7. 

 

Carter was undercut in one drive and banged her head on the court. State looked tired. The enthusiastic visitors were fueled by adrenaline.  There was no crowd factor as Mississippi limits the crowd to 10 percent of capacity.

 

Ole Miss had what could have been the last shot but shot too soon and State got the rebound and held on for the 60-56 win, Ole Miss 24 off their non-conference average. 

 

It was as much a lack of an endgame coaching for the State bench as anything else and McCray-Penson admitted as much.  They blew a 14-point lead in the fourth.

 

Ole Miss won the quarter, 18-8, but was 1 of its last 7.  

 

Johnson scored 25 and senior guard Valerie Nesbitt 18 for Ole Miss. Myah Taylor scored the last basket and two free throws at the end, 10 points and eight assists for State.

 

Carter scored 19, a basket above her average. Matharu scored 16 off the bench, 4-of-5 3s.

 

“My teammates were just finding me and getting me open for 3s. Offense always comes to me. We just lack confidence down the stretch,” Matharu said.

 

McCray-Penson said, “This was an ugly win. We just really fell apart and you can’t do that. we looked tired.

 

“When we missed we didn’t get shots. We cannot hang our hats on offense. They dictated tempo. We cannot allow that on our home court.

 

“The lack of energy and effort is not something I can tolerate.”

 

They are 3-1 to start the SEC. This week, it’s Alabama at home, then at undefeated Texas A&M for a matchup of ranked teams.

 

Kentucky: The No. 12 Kats have winnable games against Auburn and Vandy this week.