Ole Miss Women's Basketball Loses Nail-Biter in Paris to Open Season

The No. 20 Ole Miss Rebels dropped a heartbreaker to open their 2024-25 season on Monday, falling to the No. 3 USC Trojans 68-66 in the Aflac Oui-Play in Paris, France.

Ole Miss trailed 37-26 at halftime of Monday's game, but it stormed back in the third and fourth quarters to claim a 64-60 lead with 2:49 left in the game. The Rebels were only able to muster two more points in the rest of the contest (a made jumper by KK Deans that made the score 66-64), and late turnovers and fouls sent the Trojans to the free throw line to eventually secure the narrow win.

Deans led the Rebels in scoring with 19 points, and she was joined in double digits by Madison Scott with 14 points. As a team, Ole Miss shot 29.7 percent from the field and 30.4 and 71.4 percents from three and the free throw line, respectively.

Despite shooting only 9.1 percent from three, USC did best the Rebels in field goal percentage with a mark of 40. Juju Watkins led the Trojans in scoring with 27 points, and Kiki Iriafen had 22.

The Rebels are now off for the rest of the week as they return home, and they will welcome Arkansas-Pine Bluff to Oxford on Sunday. Tip-off at the SJB Pavilion is set for 2 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on SEC Network+.