Dec. 21, 2011

Box Score

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss won its third consecutive game Wednesday, beating Cleveland State, 74-63, to win the Magnolia Classic.

With the win, Ole Miss improved to 9-3 while Cleveland State fell to 4-6.

Valencia McFarland recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 assists.  Nikki Byrd added 14 points and six boards while Danielle McCray scored a career-high 12 points. The Rebels ended the game with 22 assists on 32 field goals.

For the game, the Rebels shot 57.1 percent (32-56) from the floor while the Vikings shot 43.4 percent (43.3).

Ole Miss and Cleveland state played a close first half with neither team taking more than a five-point lead in the half.  The Rebels took a five-point lead, 28-23, on a basket from Byrd with 5:56 left in the half. 

Cleveland State went up one, 36-35, with 15 seconds left in the half before Maggie McFerrin hit a three for the Rebels with 2.8 seconds remaining as Ole Miss led, 38-36, at the half.  McFarland and Byrd each had eight points for the Rebels at the break. Ole Miss shot 59.3 percent (16-27) from the floor while Cleveland State shot 44.8 percent (13-29).

In the second half, Ole Miss used a 10-1 run to push its lead to 51-42 on a layup from Kenyotta Jenkins.  Cleveland State cut Ole Miss’ lead to five with 2:35 to play and the Rebels held the Vikings without a point for the remainder of the game. 

Ole Miss will continue its five-game home stand on Thursday, December 29 against SELA at 7 p.m.