OXFORD, Miss. – A game-tying layup from senior forward Laniah Randle came up just short as University of Missouri women’s basketball was unable to complete a fourth-quarter comeback against Ole Miss, falling 68-66 Sunday afternoon at the SJB Pavilion.
Sophomore guard Grace Slaughter led Missouri (13-16, 2-12 SEC) with 18 points and three rebounds.
Junior guard Ashton Judd submitted an all-around performance with 17 points, five boards, three assists and a trio of steals.
Randle finished with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Graduate forward Angelique Ngalakulondi rounded out the Tigers’ top performances with 10 points and seven boards.
Missouri jumped out to an 8-5 advantage in the contest following an early triple by sophomore guard Abbey Schreacke.
Ole Miss led by six points with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter, but the Tigers closed the frame on a 7-2 run that was capped off with a 3-pointer by Judd.
Judd scored seven of her total in the opener to spearhead Missouri’s early offense.
The Tigers’ starting point guard Averi Kroenke suffered an early injury less than a minute into the contest that kept her sidelined for the remainder of the first half.
Missouri mounted a 9-2 run to begin the second quarter and took a seven-point lead. Slaughter scored four in the charge which was extended by a 3-pointer by Judd.
Ole Miss closed the separation to one in the heart of the frame, but Slaughter responded with six points down the stretch as Missouri finished the half on an 11-2 run and led 40-30 at the break.
The Rebels were able to cut into the Tigers’ lead to open the second half and took a one-point advantage with just under four minutes elapsed in the third quarter.
Ole Miss pushed its lead to six, but 3-pointers by Slaughter and Schreacke on back-to-back Tigers’ possessions brought Missouri back to within two.
A late offensive charge by the Rebels saw the hosts take a 59-51 advantage into the fourth.
Missouri cut the lead to eight before a second-chance layup by Randle ignited a late 7-1 scoring run that saw the Tigers trailing by just one in the final minute.
The game-tying layup attempt on the final possession did not fall as Ole Miss secured the victory.
Missouri made six 3-pointers in the contest compared to just one Ole Miss conversion from beyond the arc.
UP NEXT
Missouri will travel to face Arkansas at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The contest will stream live on SECN+.
