Despite losing its star player in the second half, Ole Miss still found a way to beat Florida on Thursday night in the O’Connell Center.
The Rebels were able to overcome the absence of senior guard Kayla Melson, who left the game after colliding with a teammate and suffering concussion-like symptoms, as well as a furious, late charge by the Gators to hold on for the 61-59 victory.
Even with some late-game theatrics, Florida (14-10, 4-6 Southeastern Conference) didn’t lose this matchup in crunch time — it was lost on the boards. Ole Miss (10-11, 3-6 SEC) dominated the glass with 16 offensive rebounds and multiple second-chance opportunities.
“I thought that was the deciding factor in the game,” coach Amanda Butler said. “Their offensive rebounding sustained them. … Those guys just crushed us. They crushed our post players on the inside.”
The Gators never held a lead in the game, but they put themselves in position for a come-from-behind victory in the closing minutes.
Florida was down by 12 points with just over six minutes to play, but it put together a 16-4 run to tie the game at 56 with 1:03 left on the clock.
As she had done all evening, Ole Miss guard Valencia McFarland stepped up and delivered, driving to the basket and dishing to a wide-open Pa’Sonna Hope for the go-ahead score.
Ole Miss defended well on the other end, and freshman guard Jaterra Bonds was forced to put up a three-point attempt with 12 seconds left. It didn’t fall, and the Rebels clinched just their second win in eight games.
Taking over at the point for Melson, McFarland finished with a game-high 20 points and six assists.
“I’m real sad she’s a freshman and we’re going to have to play against her for three more years,” Butler said of the Rebels guard.
Florida came out flat to start the game, Butler said, and didn’t score its first points until close to three minutes in. But the coach scoffed at the notion her team lacked motivation.
“I don’t know why there would be a reason that we wouldn’t be up for this game — that’s just incomprehensible to me,” she said.
The Gators shot poorly all evening and finished 22 of 58 from the field. Junior guard Jordan Jones (eight points, 2-of-8 three-point shooting) said the Rebels’ zone defense allowed open looks, but she admitted Florida also forced some shots.
“It’s never in our game plan just to jack up a bunch of threes,” Jones said of Florida’s 22 attempts from the outside. “I took a lot and wish I had some of them back.”
While there were opportunities to pull out an improbable win late in the game, Jones said the team didn’t do enough to secure a victory.
“We showed good fight at the end,” Jones said. “But to not have it there for 40 minutes against an SEC team … there’s no excuse for that.”
