Ole Miss women get pair of double-doubles and roll to 83-65 March Madness win over Ball State

WACO, Texas (AP) — Mississippi coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin felt better when she realized it would be a different arena as the Rebels returned to the Texas city where they were on the wrong side of history three years ago.

It felt even better when Ole Miss earned some redemption.

Starr Jacobs had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the No. 5 seed Rebels rolled to an 83-65 victory over 12th-seeded Ball State in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

The Rebels will face fourth-seeded Baylor, a 73-60 winner over Grand Canyon, in the second round Sunday.

Kennedy Todd-Williams had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Madison Scott also scored 15 points as the Rebels (21-10) had a much better time on Baylor’s home court three years after South Dakota won a tournament game for the first time by beating Ole Miss in Waco.

That first-round loss in 2022 was at the old Ferrell Center, about a mile from Foster Pavilion, which opened almost 15 months ago. McPhee-McCuin is a fan of Foster over Ferrell.

“Once I realized that we wouldn’t be playing in the same building, I felt like the juju was lifted,” McPhee-McCuin said. “We’re just such a different team now, and that was our first time going into the tournament. But it was a sigh of relief. It was in the back of my mind.”

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Ally Becki scored 19 points for the Cardinals (27-8), who were making their second NCAA appearance 16 years after the first. Ball State was the 12th seed back then, too, knocking off Tennessee before losing to Iowa State.

Ball State, the Mid-American Conference Tournament champion, didn’t give itself much of a chance for another upset, shooting 31% before halftime while falling behind 37-23. The deficit reached 20-plus early in the second half and stayed there until the fourth quarter.

Ole Miss thought a fourth consecutive NCAA trip under McPhee-McCuin would lead to hosting the early rounds of the tournament.

Instead, the Rebels had to settle for their highest seed since 1994, also at No. 5, then went out and proved they probably deserved to be on their home court.

At least they can say they’re making better memories in Texas.

“We had been off almost two weeks, so it’s a long time,” McPhee-McCuin said. “We just had to get some anxiety, some rust off. And I can tell because they were incredibly winded, and I don’t know how because we’ve been like on vacation for two weeks.”

Ole Miss led by a point when Scott hit a jumper to start a 12-0 run bridging the first and second quarters. Ball State got no closer than nine points after that.

“I thought we threw the first punch,” Cardinals coach Brady Sallee said. “Of course, with them, it always starts on the defensive end, and they take defense and turn it into offense. Then once that snowball started going a little bit, I thought they settled in and looked like what I had seen on film, going and getting boards.”

Jacobs and Todd-Williams led a dominant rebounding effort. Ole Miss had a 52-32 edge, including 18-6 on offensive boards for a 22-6 margin in second-chance points.

“It was a part of the game plan,” Todd-Williams said. “I know I have to get on the glass. Starr is always on the glass, so I wanted to give her some extra leave. It was really good for me to see that I was able to get those rebounds, so it kind of opened it up.”

Not home, but back in Texas

The Rebels didn’t get any home games, but Jacobs was back home in Texas. She went to high school in the Dallas area and played two seasons in college there, at Texas-Arlington.

“I love being in Texas, but it’s a great feeling being back home and having people come out and support you,” Jacobs said. “But like (Scott) said before, our defense travels. It was a great win for us, and no matter where we play, I think we’re going to play the same.”

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This version corrects Kennedy Todd-Williams’ scoring total to 15 points.

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