USC earns first road win with overtime victory at Mississippi
Having not won a road game all season, Sunday’s game at Ole Miss was all too important for South Carolina.
And despite surrendering an early 12-point lead, the Lady Gamecocks managed to hold off an Ole Miss comeback by securing a 63-58 overtime victory to snap a two-game losing skid.
The Rebels were a team coach Dawn Staley had found success against, beating them for her first SEC victory two years ago and on the road last season.
The Rebels gained their first lead of the game with 3:46 left in regulation, but USC managed to jump ahead 51-50 moments later with a layup from junior guard La’Keisha Sutton. After a Valencia McFarland jumper, Ole Miss secured a one-point lead before a Sutton free throw with 0:17 remaining sent the game into overtime.
Senior guard Valerie Nainima put the Gamecocks up by three after knocking down a 3-pointer just 13 seconds into the extra period en route to an 11-point performance.
The Rebels managed to regain the lead on a jumper from Pa’Sonna Hope with 2:07 remaining. The Rebels wouldn’t score again, and Carolina went on to score the final six to secure the win.
Stepping up for Carolina was guard Ieasia Walker, who finished with a career-high 11 rebounds to surpass her previous high of seven. The sophomore also added 20 points, three assists and two steals.
Another crucial performance came from sophomore forward Ashley Bruner, who finished with eight points and nine rebounds, but more significantly came through during the tight moments of regulation by adding a pair of scores in the second half after the Rebels managed to knot it up.
Ole Miss guard Kayla Melson finished with a game-high 21 points for the Rebels, but the effort was not enough as the Rebels dropped their third-straight contest and just their second at home.