The MSU Lady Bulldogs (13-8, 4-3) went into Tad Smith Coliseum Sunday evening and pulled out a 73-71 buzzer-beating upset against their cross-state rival, the No. 22 Ole Miss Lady Rebels (16-6, 5-2) in front of a crowd of 3,590. MSU was led by freshman guard Alexis Rack with 18 points and seven rebounds.
“You’re not going to win many SEC ballgames turning the ball over and shooting 50-something percent from the foul line,” Ole Miss head coach Carol Ross said. “Those two things combined were not enough for us to overcome.”
The Lady Bulldogs were in foul trouble relatively early in the ball game, and down the stretch three players were forced to play limited roles with four fouls apiece.
The Lady Rebels went on 23-5 run that tied the game with 5:25 left.
Ole Miss played strong inside, out-rebounding MSU 45-37 with 32 points in the paint. Ole Miss would also take advantage of Bulldog turnovers, turning them into 32 points.
The Lady Rebels took a 66-61 lead with little over two minutes left in the game.
Just when things looked their bleakest, the Lady Dawgs ran off six points to gain a one-point advantage.
Moments afterward, with 14 seconds left, Alexis Rack did her part hitting two free throws to put State up by 3.
Ole Miss guard Ashley Awkward then raced down the court and nailed a 3 to tie the game with only about six seconds left. Awkward, who finished the game with 19 points, left the Lady Bulldogs in an awkward situation.
Now needing to travel the length of the floor in six seconds or risk going into overtime with an Ole Miss team that had all the momentum, along with three Lady Bulldogs carrying four fouls. Sophomore guard Marniesha Richard, who finished the game with 15 points, took off down the court splitting two defenders and, with a lean-in jumper, lifted the Lady Bulldogs over the Rebels.
“My first thought was just get it past the first initial defender and just try to get a good look,” Richard said. “I looked up at 3 seconds and tried to get close to the basket and let it go … I had confidence and it went in.