Alabama
15-5, 3-4SEC
University of Mississippi
13-7, 2-5SEC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 17 | 8 | 19 | 21 | 65 |
| Ole Miss | 9 | 10 | 24 | 14 | 57 |
Jordan Lewis Scores a Career-High 22 Points to lead Alabama Women’s Basketball Past Ole Miss, 65-57
1/22/2017 4:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Crimson Tide earns 15th victory overall and third of the SEC season with win over Rebels
OXFORD, Miss. – Freshman Jordan Lewis scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Alabama women's basketball team to a 65-57 victory over Ole Miss on Sunday at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. With the win, the Crimson Tide improves to 15-5 overall and 3-4 in Southeastern Conference play, while the loss drops the Rebels to 13-7 on the season and 2-5 against league opponents.
Alabama has now matched its win total from last year and its 15 wins over the first 20 games is the most since the 2000-01 season. The Tide also collected its second straight SEC road victory for the first time since 2011.
Joining Lewis in double figures were juniors Hannah Cook and Meoshonti Knight, who contributed 17 points and 13 points, respectively. Cook and sophomore Shaquera Wade each collected a game-high eight rebounds, while Lewis had a game-best four assists. Freshman Ashley Knight recorded four blocks to move her season total to 52 and tie her with Dee Merriweather (2004-05) for third on the Tide's single-season block list. Knight is now 16 blocks away from the record, currently held by Yolanda Watkins (1993-94).
Ole Miss was led by sophomore Madinah Muhammad with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
"I really loved how our kids played today," said Alabama head coach Kristy Curry. "We used our timeouts real wisely, and I thought our kids responded in each huddle. What can you say about Jordan Lewis today? My goodness gracious. Hannah's (Cook) big baskets at critical times. Just a great effort from so many people today. Ashley Knight was huge. Just a great team win. Our bench was in it the whole time. This was a big road win for us."
Alabama began the game on an 8-4 run, which was sparked by back-to-back threes from Cook. A three from Wade at the 3:48 mark made it a seven point advantage for the Tide, but Ole Miss responded a three of its own to cut it to four. Alabama scored the final two baskets of the quarter, including a shot from Lewis that banked in at the buzzer to give the Tide a 17-9 lead at the end of the first.
UA extended its lead out to double digits two minutes into the second frame off a jumper from Lewis and remained in front by no less than six for the duration of the half. Alabama would lead 25-19 at the break.
Ole Miss came out and scored six unanswered points to tie the game at 25 with 7:41 to go in the third. Cook then knocked down her third three-pointer of the game to put the Tide back in front. The game remained tied or in Alabama's favor until the 2:54 mark when the and-1 by senior Taylor Manuel put the Rebels on top by two. From there, the remainder of the quarter saw two ties and three lead changes, resulting in a 44-43 edge for the Tide.
Ole Miss got off to another quick start in the fourth, scoring the first five points of the quarter in a 45-second span. Alabama then rattled off its own 5-0 run thanks to a layup by Ashley Knight and a three by Meo Knight to give the lead back to the Tide, which it would hold for the duration of the contest.
For the game, Alabama shot 47.7 percent (21-44), while Ole Miss connected on 35.6 percent (21-59) of its attempts. The Tide outrebounded the Rebels, 39-28, and had six blocks compared to zero for Ole Miss.
Alabama also benefited from a large contingent of fans that traveled over to Oxford, which played a big role in supporting the team throughout the game.
"From the minute our kids saw that, I can't even put into words what that meant," added Curry. "Today, our Crimson Tide Center Court booster club was incredible the entire game and really gave us that sixth man. They (Ole Miss) had a great crowd here today too, but our group was just so loud and so proud. There was a lot of pride today from the court to the stands today. It was an incredible thing to see."
Alabama remains on the road for its next contest, traveling to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores on Thursday, Jan. 26. The game will air live on the SEC Network beginning at 8 p.m. CT.
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