The No. 2 Texas Longhorns (17-0) stayed undefeated with a narrow Sunday win over the No. 15 Ole Miss Rebels (14-3), 67-64 in a top-25 conference matchup at the Moody Center.
Sophomore guard Jordan Lee led the Longhorns with 17 points, four rebounds, and an assists alongside junior wing Madison Booker snagging 15 points with six boards and six assists. Junior forward Breya Cunningham aided Texas with 10 points and four rebounds while senior guard Ashton Judd stepped off the bench and contributed nine
points and four assists. Senior point guard Rori Harmon hit for eight points and handed out 10 assists with three rebounds while senior center Kyla Oldacre nabbed three boards and scored 8 points for the Horns.
In the opening quarter, both teams came out swinging with the Rebels taking an early 8-4 lead. Texas responded with a 9-0 run on made jump shots. The Longhorns shot 57.1 percent from the field and forced five Rebel turnovers to hold the lead at the end of the first quarter, 24-17, despite allowing Ole Miss to shoot 58.3 percent.
The second period was a defensive showdown with both teams scoring a total of 18 points in a 14-4 advantage for Texas. The Longhorns shot 50 percent in field goals while holding the Rebel offense to 15.4 percent and forcing three turnovers. Harmon, Cunningham, and Booker each scored four points in the period to stay up at halftime, 35-21.
As the third quarter started, the Rebels came out hot shooting 46.2 percent from the field with the help of forward Latasha Lattimore scoring nine out of her 17 points. Despite the surge, Ole Miss committed seven turnovers and lost the quarter by a point.
Oldacre held down the paint to lead the Longhorns with six points in the third period to head into the fourth quarter with a 15-point lead.
Not finished, Ole Miss rallied back with a 21-12 edge in the final period by shooting 61.5 percent from the field behind 12 points from forward Cotie McMahon,
In the fourth and final period, the Rebels outshot the Longhorns 21-12 shooting 61.5 percent from the field. The Rebels forward Cotie McMahon knocked 12 points in the fourth quarter, narrowing the lead for the Longhorns with an 8-0 run, but the game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated because Ole Miss scored the last four points over the final 75 seconds.
Next up, Texas hosts Auburn on January 8 at 7 p.m. Central on SEC Network+.
