No. 24 Ole Miss builds a 32-point lead and holds on to beat No. 5 Vanderbilt 89-78 in SEC Tournament

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Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes drives to the basket past Mississippi guard Kaitlin Peterson during second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes drives to the basket past Mississippi guard Kaitlin Peterson during second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Mississippi guard Denim DeShields pulls the ball away form Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) and guard Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda during second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Mississippi guard Denim DeShields pulls the ball away form Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes (1) and guard Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda during second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Vanderbilt forward Sacha Washington =drive around Mississippi during second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Vanderbilt forward Sacha Washington =drive around Mississippi during second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph leaves the game after being ejected during second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph leaves the game after being ejected during second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Ole Miss forward Cotie McMahon drives past Vanderbilt guard Justine Pissott during first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Ole Miss forward Cotie McMahon drives past Vanderbilt guard Justine Pissott during first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
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8:37 PM on Friday, March 6

By STEVE REED

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Latasha Lattimore scored 28 points and Cotie McMahon had 27 as No. 24 Mississippi built a 32-point third-quarter lead and held on late to beat fifth-ranked Vanderbilt 89-78 in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.

Tianna Thompson added 16 points for the Rebels (23-10), who jumped to a 23-2 lead in the first quarter and rode the wave of momentum to their second win this season over Commodores (27-4).

Ole Miss will face No. 4 Texas in Saturday's semifinals.

Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes, who averaged more than 30 points per game in conference play this season, missed her first 12 shots — including five 3s — and didn’t make a first field goal until 2:31 remained in the third quarter after battling early foul trouble.

Blakes then helped a fuel a frantic fourth-quarter rally in which Vanderbilt trimmed the lead to nine with three minutes to go. She finished with 24 points.

Aubrey Galvan added 18 points for Vanderbilt.

Ole Miss, which beat Auburn 73-57 on Thursday, took its huge early lead by holding the Volunteers to 1-of-15 shooting and using quick hands to deflect passes and create steals that led to easy layups.

Things got worse for Vanderbilt in the second quarter when Blakes picked up her third foul.

Frustrations began to boil over in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph was ejected with 9:25 left after arguing a foul call that went against Blakes, who dived on the floor to retrieve a loose ball.

That seemed to awaken the Commodores, who rallied to cut the lead to nine on a steal and 3-point play by Galvan.

Vanderbilt outscored Ole Miss 37-24 in the fourth quarter.

Up next

Ole Miss: Faces another top-five opponent in the fourth-ranked Longhorns.

Vanderbilt: Awaits its NCAA Tournament seed.

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