OXFORD, Miss. (WTVA/Ole Miss Athletics) – After trailing by as many as 15 in the first half, the Ole Miss women's basketball team used a huge second half to post a 71-59 come-from-behind win over UMass Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Ole Miss improved to (5-2) while UMass fell to (2-8).
Diara Moore scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half while Tia Faleru scored a career-high 17 points and Danielle McCray added a career-high 16. McFarland and Faleru also added five assists each.
“We came out really flat and really lethargic,” acting head coach Brett Frank said. “We got off to a really slow start but fortunately we had some key people step up for us.”
For the game, Ole Miss shot 39.1 percent (27-69) including shooting 50.0 percent (19-38) in the second half. Faleru and Monique Jackson each recorded a team-high six rebounds.
UMass took an early lead on Ole Miss, leading by 15, 20-5, with 12:55 left in the half. The Rebels cut the Minutewomen’s lead to five, 22-17, on a fast-break layup from Valencia McFarland with just over five minutes to play.
At the half, UMass led 30-21. The Rebels shot 25.8 percent (8-31) from the floor in the first half while the Minutewomen shot 40.0 percent (12-30). Faleru led the team at the half with seven points while McFarland added six.
Ole Miss came out in the second half and scored six unanswered points and took its first lead of the game, 34-33, on a three pointer from Moore with 17:04 left in the game.
Another basket from Moore pushed Ole Miss’ lead to eight, 48-40, with 7:56 remaining in the game.
Ole Miss will host Belmont on Sunday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. FREE Ole Miss ornaments will be given to first 500 fans. Also, bring a toy, book, or bear for children of Ole Miss custodial staff and receive FREE admission.
