Lattimore leads balanced attack as Mississippi downs Gonzaga 81-66

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Latasha Lattimore led a balanced offense with 15 points as Mississippi overpowered Gonzaga 81-66 on Friday.

Cotie McMahon scored 13 points and Sira Thienou had 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for Mississippi, who advanced to face No. 4 seed Minnesota on Sunday. Thienou was playing in her first game since Feb. 17 after suffering a bone bruise on her left knee.

“If we start the game off how we did this game moving forward, I feel like we’ll be in a pretty good spot,” said McMahon, who had six points in the first quarter. “I was really happy with our effort and the way we dictated and disrupted.”

Denim DeShields added 11 points and four assists for the No. 5-seed Rebels (24-11), who were ranked 19th in the most recent AP poll and are playing in their fifth straight NCAA Tournament.

Allie Turner led Gonzaga, champions of the West Coast Conference Tournament, with 27 points. Jaiden Haile had 11 points and eight rebounds and Lauren Whittaker added eight points and 13 rebounds.

After falling behind by as much as 13 in the first quarter, No. 12-seed Gonzaga (24-10) got a three-point play by Haile and a driving layup by Turner to cut the deficit to 25-19 midway through the second.

But Mississippi responded with a 14-4 run that started with consecutive second-chance buckets by Lattimore in the low post. McMahon capped the run with a 3-pointer to send the Rebels into the locker room leading 39-23.

Smothering

Gonzaga didn’t get on the board until Haile made a layup with 5:06 left in the first quarter, cutting Mississippi’s lead to 8-2. The Bulldogs missed their first seven field goal attempts and three of their first four shots were blocked. They finished the quarter 4 for 14 from the field and committed seven turnovers, including two shot clock violations forced by the Rebels’ swarming defense.

“Just the pressure that they applied, it was different,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. “That’s what happens when you play in the NCAA Tournament. Every team that you play is really good or really big or really athletic or really hot, like maybe all of those things.”

In the trees

Gonzaga’s offensive struggles were due in large part to Mississippi’s lopsided size advantage. The Rebels had four starters and six rotation players standing 6-foot-1 or taller, compared to just three for Gonzaga.

“The physicality in general was probably a little bit of a shock to us coming in,” Whittaker said. “I don’t think we’ve played at that level, and to have everyone constantly bringing that physicality every play and every possession, I think, was just hard for us.”

Never say die

The Bulldogs trailed 70–37 early in the fourth quarter but they closed out the game strong. Teryn Gardner hit three 3-pointers, while Turner added eight free throws and a three as Gonzaga cut the deficit to 10 points with 47 seconds left before Ole Miss closed it out.

“I think our team showed a lot of fight and it was honestly fun — the end of the game was fun,” said Turner, who helped spark a 17-0 run as part of the comeback. “It’s hard to play when you’re losing by 30, but Lisa told us every time-out, ‘Keep going, it’s one possession at a time,’ and I think we did that.”

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness