Women's basketball daily report: 1/9 edition

It was a hectic night of women’s basketball. Here’s the daily report.

Daily takeaway: Ole Miss secures status as ‘dangerous’ in the SEC

Just a few days ago, Ole Miss traveled to Austin and gave Texas everything it could handle. The Rebels came up short, but the signs were there that this group was starting to come together.

It’s a team with no shortage of newness and a team with potential that hadn’t fully taken shape yet. But this week confirmed what many suspected in the preseason: Ole Miss is not a team to overlook.

On Thursday night, the Rebels carried that momentum into Norman against No. 5 Oklahoma – and this time, they didn’t come up short. Ole Miss dominated the first quarter and, even as the Sooners surged back and made it a one-possession game in the final seconds, the Rebels stayed composed.

Behind clutch performances from Cotie McMahon and Sira Thienou, Ole Miss pulled off the upset, knocking off Oklahoma 74-69 on the road. McMahon finished with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block, while Thienou added 20 points, three rebounds and a steal.

Ole Miss shot 47% from the field, 42% from three and 87% from the free-throw line, forced 17 turnovers and held Oklahoma to just 24% shooting from beyond the arc.

One game to look forward to today: Northern Iowa/Murray State

Northern Iowa and Murray State both remain undefeated in conference play, but they’ve taken very different paths to get there. Murray State boasts one of the league’s most efficient offenses, while Northern Iowa hangs its hat on defense.

True to their name, the Racers play at a fast pace, while the Panthers slow the game down. Murray State is averaging 83.7 points per game this season, compared to just 63.6 for Northern Iowa. It should make for an intriguing matchup.

Keep an eye on: Abbie Aalsma

Abbie Aalsma has been on a tear for Drake all season. The Bulldogs run much of their offense through the 5-foot-9 junior, and she’s delivered in a big way during MVC play. In conference action, Aalsma is averaging 26.7 points, 4.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and a steal per game — while committing just one turnover per outing.

She’s shooting an absurd 62% from the field in conference play, knocking down four threes per game at a 54.5% clip from beyond the arc, and ranks in the 99th percentile nationally in fast-break points per game (7.3) through this stretch.

Drake will face a tough Belmont team on the road, and Aalsma will once again be asked to shoulder much of the offensive load.

Notable results

Sam Houston 59, Liberty 53

Louisville 77, Miami 68

Michigan State 82, Washington 67

Saint Mary’s 60, Pacific 55

Ole Miss 74, Oklahoma 69

Alabama 64, Kentucky 51

LSU 80, Georgia 59

Baylor 56, Colorado 52

Tennessee 90, Mississippi State 80

Nebraska 78, Indiana 73

Virginia Tech 77, Syracuse 57

Duke 78, Cal 74

Robert Morris 74, Purdue FW 64

Binghamton 71, Vermont 67

Eastern Illinois 75, Tennessee Tech 74

Virginia 61, Georgia Tech 59

New Orleans 64, SE Louisiana 63

FGCU 58, Austin Peay 54

Texas A&M 74, Florida 66

Illinois State 75, UIC 61

Purdue 75, Wisconsin 67

Clemson 75, NC State 65

Key statlines

Louisville’s Elif Istanbulluoglu: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal

Iona’s Isabellah Middleton: 24 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

Texas A&M-CC’s Torie Sevier: 22 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block

LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson: 25 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

Georgia’s Dani Carnegie: 24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals

Green Bay’s Maddy Skorupski: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals

Duke’s Delaney Thomas: 24 points, 2 assists, 1 steal

Notre Dame’s Cassandre Prosper: 27 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists

Santa Clara’s Maia Jones: 25 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block

Robert Morris’ Aislin Malcolm: 20 points, 3/5 from deep, 2 rebounds, 2 assists

UC Riverside’s Hannah Wickstrom: 24 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

Cal State Northridge’s Jite Gbemuotor: 16 points 15 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks

Cal Poly’s Vanessa McManus: 31 points, 4 rebounds

Michigan State’s Kennedy Blair: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal

Fairfield’s Kaety L’Amoreaux: 24 points, 6/11 from deep, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

LIU’s Kadidia Toure: 29 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks

Mercyhurst’s Sofia Wilson: 20 points, 4/8 from deep, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals

Vermont’s Malia Lenz: 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block

UNH’s Eva DeChent: 34 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block

Bryant’s Mimi Rubino: 21 points, 5/7 from deep, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

USI’s Ali Saunders: 27 points, 5/8 from deep, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

Tennessee Tech’s Reghan Grimes: 29 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

Green Bay’s Jenna Guyer: 20 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal

Alabama’s Jessica Timmons: 24 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Maryland’s Yarden Garzon: 18 points, 6/6 from deep, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 block

Tarleton State’s Shadasia Brackens: 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 blocks

UNCG’s Jeni Levine: 21 points, 4/7 from deep, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Lipscomb’s Taylor Bowen: 16 points, 14 rebounds

UNF’s Alonya Waldon: 24 points, 5 steals

West Georgia’s Jasmine Jones: 22 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Eastern Kentucky’s Liz Freihofer: 26 points, 5/7 from deep, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

North Alabama’s Gabby Jackson: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals

FIU’s Denika Lightbourne: 25 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal

Ole Miss’ Sira Thienou: 20 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal

Oklahoma’s Aaliyah Chavez: 26 points, 6/14 from deep, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block

Purdue’s Nya Smith: 20 points, 4/6 from deep, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

Vanderbilt’s Sacha Washington: 15 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists

Evansville’s Camryn Runner: 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks

SC State’s Iemyiah Harris: 21 points, 4/9 from deep, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals

Saint Francis’ Shelby Ricks: 29 points, 5/7 from deep, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 blocks

FGCU’s Sinai Douglas: 24 points, 6/6 from deep, 3 assists, 2 steals

Texas A&M’s Fatmata Janneh: 22 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal

Texas A&M’s Ny’Ceara Pryor: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 steals

Illinois State’s Doneelah Washington: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks

South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards: 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

Tennessee’s Mia Pauldo: 26 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

Mississippi State’s Kharyssa Richardson: 22 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal

Indiana’s Shay Ciezki: 31 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

New Mexico State’s Lucia Yenes: 26 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block

Missouri State’s Kaemyn Bekemeier: 26 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

Marquette’s Olivia Porter: 23 points, 5/10 from deep, 2 rebounds, 2 steals

Clemson’s Rachael Rose: 19 points, 3/4 from deep, 8 rebounds, 1 steal

Denver’s Laia Monclova: 17 points, 4/6 from deep, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals

St. Thomas’ Jada Hood: 22 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

North Dakota’s Walker Demers: 23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

Northern Arizona’s Naomi White: 37 points, 9/14 from deep, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block

Southern Utah’s Ava Uhrich: 20 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists

Oregon State’s Tiara Bolden: 24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Idaho’s Kyra Gardner: 28 points, 4/6 from deep, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 7 steals, 2 blocks

Texas’ Kyla Oldacre: 23 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal

Stanford’s Nunu Agara: 27 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block

UC San Diego’s Makayla Rose: 22 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, 1 block

Cal State Fullerton’s Cristina Jones: 21 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 8 steals