Matharu helps No. 10 Mississippi St rout Ole Miss 84-59

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Aliyah Matharu shined for Mississippi State for the second-straight game with a career-high 24 points as the No. 10 Bulldogs beat Ole Miss 84-59 on Sunday.

Matharu followed up an 18-point performance over Arkansas in the previous game to score 24 in just 19 minutes. Jordan Danberry also had a big game against the Rebels as the Mississippi State senior finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Ole Miss led the Bulldogs 32-30 with 3:16 remaining in second quarter before Mississippi State closed on a 14-0 run to end the half. Matharu had eight points during that stretch and it sparked a 24-0 run that went into the third quarter as Mississippi State led by a margin of 54-32 .

The Rebels (7-22, 0-16 Southeastern Conference) kept it close for most of the first half. Ole Miss trailed 22-17 at the end of the first quarter and had the lead on a couple of occasions in the second before Matharu helped close it out.

It was 63-48 after three quarters with the Bulldogs well in control of the game.

Ole Miss had 19 turnovers and was outscored 44-20 in the paint. The Bulldogs also won the rebounds 30-24. The Rebels were led in scoring by Deja Cage who had 19 points and Dominique Banks had 12 points on a perfect 6 for 6.

Mississippi State (25-5, 13-3 Southeastern Conference) also had Chloe Bibby in double figures with 10 points.

BIG PICTURE:

Mississippi State: After being upset by unranked Alabama two weeks ago, the Bulldogs bounced back and won consecutive games against Arkansas and Ole Miss to close the regular season and go into the SEC Tournament with some confidence. Aliyah Matharu has helped the Bulldog offense get some identity.

Ole Miss: The Rebels followed up a 9-22 season and 3-13 SEC mark in 2018-19 with seven regular season wins and zero in conference play this year. Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has had a massive rebuild on her hands but did produce a top ranked signing class for next year.

UP NEXT:

Mississippi State is at the SEC Tournament against a team to be determined next Friday.

Ole Miss will play Vanderbilt on Wednesday at the SEC Tournament.