Dominant third quarter leads Ole Miss past Gonzaga in first round of NCAA Tournament
No. 5 seeded Ole Miss used a 22-5 run in the third quarter Friday afternoon to open up a 33-point lead against No. 12 seed Gonzaga, and the Rebels held off a furious Bulldog fourth-quarter surge in an 81-66 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.
Ole Miss (24-11) held Gonzaga (24-10) to 36. 4% from the field overall and forced 21 turnovers in the game. Ole Miss senior forward Latasha Lattimore led the Rebels with 15 points, while All-American forward Cotie McMahon finished with 13.
Four Ole Miss players finished in double-figure scoring. Gonzaga star Lauren Whittaker, who entered the contest averaging 19. 4 points per game on 55.
3% shooting from the field, scored eight points on 4 of 21 from the field. Gonzaga’s Allie Turner led all scorers with 27 points, with 11 coming in the fourth. It’s the fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Rebels under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin.
Ole Miss scored the first eight points of the game and led 20-9 after the first quarter. The Rebels forced seven Bulldog turnovers and held Gonzaga to just 4 of 14 from the field in the first. The Bulldogs cut what was at one point a 13-point Rebels lead down to six in the second quarter, but Ole Miss responded with a 9-0 run and led by 16 at halftime.