LAS VEGAS – Despite a strong start against an undefeated Ole Miss squad, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team was plagued by a season-high 31 turnovers and suffered a 69-44 loss in the opening game of the Lady Rebel Round-Up in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday night.
“I thought we competed and we got on the back boards, but you can’t rebound and then turn it over,” head coach Jonathan Tsipis said. “We have to turn around and put that one behind us. We have to get better. We have to continue to grow on things. We’re still worrying too much about what happened on the play before and I think that’s why we get turnovers.”
The Badgers (1-5) had a solid first quarter, trailing by just by two points at the end of the frame after holding the lead for a little more than three minutes. It took nearly two minutes for either team to get on the board, but the Rebels struck first at the hands of their leading scorer, Madinah Muhammad, who finished with a career-best 22 points on the night.
Scoring remained close until Ole Miss took its largest lead by four points, 12-8, at the 3:07 mark. Once again, UW had an answer in the form of a 7-0 run, which was sparked by Cayla McMorris’ 3-point play that pushed Wisconsin ahead, 15-12 with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Rebels get into early foul trouble, committing nine as a team in the first period alone, which allowed Wisconsin to get to the free throw line where it went 8-for-9. The Badgers had some foul trouble themselves, however, putting Ole Miss at the line 10 times.
A tough foul called at the end of the first quarter gave Ole Miss three made free throws and changed the momentum in the Rebels’ favor, as they took a 20-18 lead heading into the second quarter.
Ole Miss outscored Wisconsin 21-9 in the second quarter, with Muhammad banking three 3-pointers and being responsible for 13 of the Rebels’ 21 points. A slick move by sophomore Marsha Howard in the paint led to a layup that cut the Rebels’ lead down to single digits (29-20, 5:26), but it would be the last time in the first half.
Mississippi carried a 41-27 advantage into halftime after making 14 points off of UW turnovers in the second quarter.
“Mohammed was great to start for them, got them started in the first half,” Tsipis added. “Things continue to build for us. In some ways, they’re all still freshmen trying to learn things from me and trying to figure out how to move on to the next part of things. You hope each game you correct a little bit more.
“I thought we had more fight than we did in the Milwaukee game. We can’t be scared. They do a good job of pressuring the ball.”
Wisconsin came out energized in the third quarter, holding Ole Miss to just eight points. UW shaved down what was a 16-point lead by Ole Miss to 9 points with a 10-3 run capped off by a McMorris 3-pointer at the 3:19 mark, making it 46-37 in Ole Miss’ favor. But three free throws secured a 49-38 advantage for Mississippi headed into the fourth.
Ole Miss outscored UW 20-6 in the fourth quarter and finished with a final score of 69-44.
McMorris led the Badgers in points for the second-straight game, marking the fifth game she’s led UW in points this season. With her 17 points against the Rebels, McMorris has scored in double figures in every game this season.
The Badgers out-rebounded the Rebels, 45-34, the first time they have done so against an opponent this season. Howard led the way for Wisconsin on the boards, notching eight in 17 minutes played, while three other Badgers, Courtney Fredrickson, Kendall Shaw and Avyanna Young, each accounted for seven.