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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
1-3
Utah
4-1
Ole Miss Edges Utah, 52-38
11/28/2014 | Women's Basketball
RENO, Nev. - On the strength of 23 points from freshman Toree Thompson (Broken Arrow, Okla.), including 16 of Ole Miss' second half points, the Ole Miss women's basketball team squeaked out a 52-38neutral site win over Utah in the opening round of the Nugget Classic on Friday night.The win moves Ole Miss into the championship of the Nugget Classic where they will face host Nevada at 6:30 p.m. (CT)
Trailing, 30-29 with 8:44 remaining, Thompson knocked down two crucial free throws and after a Utah turnover, came down the court and drilled a three-pointer to put Ole Miss head, 34-30 - a lead they wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the contest. Utah got as close as four points with five minutes to go, but Ole Miss closed on a 14-4 run to pick up its first win over a power five conference since defeating Illinois in the third place game of the Rainbow Wahine tournament in Honolulu in 2009-10.
Thompson led all scorers with a career-high 23 points and was joined in double figures by class mate Kelsey Briggs (Memphis, Tenn.), who tied her career high with 12 points. The freshman duo led the Ole Miss squad in the second half combining for 22 of Ole Miss' 28 second half points. Tia Faleru (Ozark, Ala.) led the Rebels with nine rebounds.
After a dominating first half performance which saw Ole Miss hold Utah to just 11 first half points - tied for fifth fewest points by an opponent - the Rebels came out cold to start the second half, and Utah took advantage and used a 11-0 run to open the half to tie the game at 24 at the 13:56 mark of the second half forcing Ole Miss to call a timeout before Ole Miss dug in on the defense end.
Ole Miss got off to a good start with a triple from Thompson her first since the Middle Tennessee game, which helped the Rebels to an early 4-1 lead in the contest. The Ole Miss defense held Utah without a field goal for five minutes before a bucket from Joseta Fatuesi at the 15:20 mark.
The Rebels struggled from the floor in the first half and despite being up 5-3 , the squads combined to go nearly seven minutes without a bucket before a trey from Briggs ended the drought. That seemed to open things up for the Rebels as they responded with a 10-0 run to open up a 15-5 lead.
Ole Miss held Utah to just 14 percent shooting in the first half and a season-low 11 points, which is the sixth fewest points allowed in program history in a half. Utah pulled within seven, but the Rebels closed the half on a 12-5 run over the final 6:09 to take a 24-11 lead into the break.
Ole Miss Is back in action at the 2014 Nugget Classic hosted by Nevada on Saturday vs. Nevada in the championship game. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. PT.
For ticket information, go to OleMissTix.com or call the Ole Miss Ticket Office at 1-888-REB-TKTS (732-8587). Keep up to date with the Ole Miss women's basketball team throughout the season on social media. For all Ole Miss women's basketball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole Miss_WBB. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women's basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell.
REBEL SIDELINES: Tonight's meeting was the third for Ole Miss and Utah and the win moves the Rebels to 3-0 against the Utes ... Utah's 11 first half points was the sixth fewest in program history ... The win over Utah was the first for Ole Miss over a power five foe since a win over Illinois in 2009-10 ... Toree Thompson had a career-high 23 points ... Tia Faleru was held to single digits for the first time this season.
