It was a loaded Thursday night for the SEC with four ranked teams battling in conference play. Here's what you need to know about Thursday's top storylines.
Upset Alert: Ole Miss knocks off No. 15 Kentucky
Ole Miss came out punching against No. 15 Kentucky from the tip. The Rebels led the Wildcats in all four quarters finishing, 72-60.
Kentucky was unable to contain Ole Miss' inside game — which featured Shakira Austin creating havoc in the paint with a double-double. Austin put up 21 points — which was half of Ole Miss' 41 pints in the paint — while grabbing 12 rebounds. Ole Miss also out-rebounded Kentucky, 49-34.
Ole Miss was able to take away Kentucky's offensive threat by suffocating Rhyne Howard on defense. Although Howard had 26 points, she struggled offensively, shooting 7-for-26 from the floor and 2-for-10 from beyond the arch. Howard relied on her consistency from the free-throw line, gaining 10 of her points from the charity stripe.
Chasity Patterson was the only other Wildcat who scored in double digits chipping in 14 points, but it wasn't enough to get the job done against the Rebels' solid paint presence.
No. 25 Georgia survives Alabama in overtime
The SEC matchup went down to the wire, but No. 25 Georgia was able to outlast Alabama, 83-76. This is the fifth time in the last seven meetings that the SEC foes went into overtime — which all five of those extended quarters have been taken by Georgia.
It was Que Morrison who found an easy layup to force the game into overtime, tying the score 69-69. Morrison went on to score eight points in overtime to stretch the lead. She finished with a career-high 25 points.
Que Morrison with a career-high 2️⃣5️⃣ points to help lead @UGA_WBB to an OT win‼️ pic.twitter.com/YWrhXmzmrE
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 5, 2021
After a first half of not getting to the free-throw line, the Bulldogs began to find their rhythm offensively in the third quarter. Georgia came out attacking to gain the lead and went 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. Georgia came alive in the third quarter outscoring Alabama with 22 points compared to Alabama's 15 to pull away with a three point lead.
Alabama was unstoppable in the first half, and that's credit to the Tide continuously feeding Ariyah Copeland in the paint. Copeland finished with 17 points. Alabama's Jasmine Walker had a consistent shooting night knocking down 24 crucial points when Alabama needed them the most, but it wasn't enough to come out with an upset.
