Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss downs McNeese, 99-44

OXFORD, Miss. — McNeese women’s basketball lacked consistency from the field tonight in a 99-44 loss at Ole Miss.

“Tonight, was about our lack of being able to consistently put the ball in the basket,” said head coach Kacie Cryer. “We had plenty of opportunities and did a much better job executing but at the end of the day we missed too may layups and open shots. We have to put the ball in the basket.

McNeese (0-2) for the second straight game was led in scoring by Callie Maddox who was the only player to reach double figures for the second straight game. Maddox ended the game with 13 points on 4 of 10 from the field including two three-pointers. Junior Claralee Richard who earned her first Division I start led McNeese with five rebounds.

The Cowgirls ended the game shooting 18.8 percent from the field and 73.1 percent from the free throw line.

Ole Miss (1-0) on the other hand shot the ball well in their season opener, ending the game with a 51.6 percent from the field and scored 42 of their 99 points in the paint.

Five Rebels scored in double figures and was led by Snudda Collins who came off the bench to score a game high 23 points including 5 of 8 from behind the arc.

“Following our game against Louisiana Tech, a big focus was put on our urgency on defense, sprinting to midline help and rebounding and we did see big time improvement with those things tonight. We came out with great energy and effort and that was why we were able to keep it close through the first quarter,” Cryer said.

The Cowgirls took an early 3-1 lead behind a trey from Richard less than a minute into the game but two free throws and a three-pointer by Ole Miss gave them a 6-3 lead and one they wouldn’t give up. The Rebels held a 24-10 lead after the first quarter.

The Cowgirls struggled to find the bottom of the net in the second quarter, making only one of 14 attempts and were 0-6 from three-point range. Ole Miss took advantage of an 18-3 run over a six-minute period to hold a 44-15 halftime lead.

Ole Miss outscored McNeese 55-29 in the second half to pick up the victory.

“We do have a lot of positives to take away from this game but there are also some things we need to continue to get better at but what we are excited about is being able to come home. This group has been through a lot but have been positive, resilient, tough, and have grown closer together because of it. We cannot wait to get back to Burton Thursday night. We have a great group of young ladies and competitors and we will keep working to get ready to defend our home court.”

The Cowgirls will host East Texas Baptist this Thursday in their home opener. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m.