Snudda, Ole Miss headed to Sweet 16
Published 12:00 pm Wednesday, March 22, 2023
- PHOTO BY OLE MISS SPORTS INFO Brookhaven High alum Snudda Collins and Ole Miss are on to the NCAA Sweet 16 after a thrilling victory against top-seeded Stanford on Sunday night.
The Ole Miss women’s basketball captured the attention of the nation on Sunday night when they went into Palo Alto and came out with a win over the No. 1 seeded Stanford Cardinal in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Brookhaven High alum Snudda Collins played 23 minutes for Ole Miss in the win and scored two points. Next up for Collins and the Rebels is a Friday matchup in the Sweet Sixteen with Louisville.
Ole Miss (25-8) thumped Gonzaga 71-48 in the opening round of the tournament. Collins scored a team high 15 points in 21 minutes during that game.
The Rebels never trailed in gaining the 54-49 win at Stanford. If you watched the game, you saw Ole Miss stymie the Cardinal offense and outwork what had been the top rebounding team in the country on the boards.
Stanford might have been bigger in size, but Ole Miss played with tons of toughness and grit.
Legendary Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer had taken her team to 14 straight Sweet Sixteens and Ole Miss had not reached the third round of the tournament in 16 years.
Collins is third on the team this season in minutes played behind the top two scorers on the team, Angel Baker and Madison Scott. A two-time Daily Leader All-Area MVP during her time hooping at BHS, Collins has started in 20 games this season and is averaging 9.0 points per game.
Fans of SEC basketball thought Ole Miss was seeded low as a No. 8 seed when the bracket was released.
No team has come closer to beating national No. 1 and unbeaten (34-0) South Carolina than Ole Miss did this season. The Gamecocks survived in overtime to beat the Rebels 64-57 in Oxford. Collins scored 11 points in 34 minutes against South Carolina.
No. 5 seed Louisville whipped No. 4 seed Texas 73-51 on Monday to set up their Sweet 16 matchup with Ole Miss. Louisville is 25-11 overall on the season.
The Rebels and their head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin will meet Louisville in Seattle, Washington on Friday in the third round of the tournament. Tip off on ESPN is scheduled for 9 p.m. CST.