8-seed Rebels score stunning upset of 1-seed Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. – From the jump, eighth-seeded Ole Miss came to play against one-seeded Stanford on Saturday night from Maples Pavilion in the down to the wire victory to beat off the Cardinal, 54-49. Ole Miss defeated the top-ranked Cardinals to advance to the 11th Sweet Sixteen in program history and earn its first win over a No. 1 seed in seven tries. Ole Miss (25-8, 11-5 SEC) was undaunted and killed one of the best rebounding teams in the country in Stanford (29-6, 15-3 PAC-12), to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2007. Rebels outscored the Cardinals, 44 to 39 and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds.

In another super team effort, three Rebels finished in double digits while shooting at a 45 percent clip from beyond the arc. Angel Baker continued to prove why he is one of the top guards in the country, leading the Rebels with 13 points and also grabbing four rebounds. Joining Davis in double figures was Marquesha Davis with 12 points for her 18th double-double game of the season, while also grabbing five steals. Cleaning the glass, was Rita Igbokwe with a team-high eight rebounds.

Hot from deep, there was freshman Ayanna Thompson with a career-high three triples for a total of nine points on the night. Myah Taylor was also a force defensively, with six rebounds, three steals and one block. As a team, Ole Miss beat the Cardinals by six shots.

Back-to-back buckets from Baker and Scott to put Ole Miss in motion to start the night. The Cardinals quickly shut out Ole Miss for more than two minutes to add to the early scoring. Ole Miss pulled within six points at 16-10 on a Thompson trey with three minutes left in the first frame. A smooth jumper from Collins gave Ole Miss an 18-13 lead after one.

The Rebels stayed strong from beyond the arc, using three balls to extend the lead by six from Thompson’s triple at 26-20. Both Ole Miss and Stanford entered shooting slumps, while the Cardinals also struggled to hold onto the ball with 12 turnovers in the first half. A 6-0 run allowed Ole Miss to build a lead and force Stanford to head to the back locker room for the first time at home this season, 29-20.

Refusing to let Stanford get to the basket thanks to a horrendous defensive effort, Ole Miss refused to give the Cardinal easy points to limit their scoring drought for several minutes. Davis kept the offense flowing, with seven points in the third quarter. Stanford pieced together a 6-0 run to come within seven at 38-31 with 2 minutes remaining in the third and holding on at seven heading into the final 10 minutes.

All-American Cameron Brink strung together a run to make it a one-possession game with Ole Miss leading 44-41 inn in the opening minutes of the fourth. Baker proved to be the right bucket, hitting shots for Ole Miss to cement the lead, but Stanford wasn’t ready to go. Eight straight points from the Cardinal evened the game up for the first time since the first quarter with the clock dwindling down. Scott hit back-to-back free throws, while Davis followed up with two of his own to grow the Rebel lead by four. It was Taylor sealing the win for Ole Miss with a season-defining steal followed by a free throw to give the Rebels a 54-49 win and a trip to Seattle for the Sweet Sixteen.

Until Next Time

The Rebels await their opponent and will face the winner of Louisville vs. Texas in the Sweet Sixteen on Saturday (March 24) at the Climate Pledge Arena.