Ole Miss entered Thursday near the bottom of the Southeastern Conference standings after starting league play 0-5.
Valencia McFarland changed that for the Rebels.
McFarland scored a game-high 24 points and added 10 assists as Ole Miss handed Florida a critical 88-81 loss in the O’Connell Center.
“She’s one of the best guards in our league,” coach Amanda Butler said. “She’s an impact player and has been since she was a freshman.”
McFarland, a 5-foot-4 junior, used her diminutive stature to find holes and create opportunities for herself and teammates throughout the game. She shot 9 of 21 from the floor and grabbed five rebounds and three steals.
Butler challenged McFarland with different defensive looks, shifting from man-to-man to zone, but there was little stopping the guard on Thursday night.
“I described [Ole Miss] before we played the game as fearless,” Butler said.
“[McFarland] certainly was their fearless leader tonight. She played a great game.”
McFarland said of her performance: “I just took what the defense gave me.”
In the first half, Florida struggled to slow an efficient Ole Miss (8-11, 1-5 SEC) offense. The Rebels — led by Gracie Frizzell’s four three-pointers — connected on 9 of their first 10 tries from behind the arc to build a 50-33 lead with 1:28 remaining before halftime.
Entering Thursday, the Rebels were shooting just 26.3 percent on threes this season.
Ole Miss finished the game 11 of 16 from the three-point line, much to the chagrin of Butler.
“We probably were the recipient of their best shooting night ever,” Butler said.
Florida (13-7, 2-4 SEC) overcame the first-half deficit to pull within three with 3:30 remaining in the second half. However, McFarland sliced through the UF defense, hitting a layup and then a pair of free throws to help seal the win.
First-year coach Brett Frank, who took on a challenging situation at Ole Miss, recorded his first SEC victory.
The Rebels fired coach Adrian Wiggins and a pair of his assistants on Oct. 22, as well as self-imposing a postseason ban for this season following recruiting violations.
Thursday was the culmination of continued focus and hard work despite the adversity, Frank said.
“I could not be more proud of this team,” Frank said.
“Of the heart, the effort and the character that they have shown consistently throughout this season.
“They’re a resilient team. Many times they had the chance to throw in the towel and quit, but they didn’t. Every single day they keep fighting.”
The lone bright spot for the Gators was Kayla Lewis, who scored a career-high 23 points in the loss. Lewis shot 9 of 13 from the floor and pulled down seven rebounds.
Junior Jaterra Bonds was left questioning the resiliency of her team. Bonds finished with 16 points on 6-of-20 shooting but had pointed remarks for her teammates following the game.
“I feel like there is no energy,” Bonds said.
“People are doing their own thing. … I just feel like everyone doesn’t care, isn’t buying into what we want to do and are trying to do. The end result is three losses in a row on our home court.”
Contact Phillip Heilman at pheilman@alligator.org.
Javier Edwards / Alligator
Center Viktorija Dimaite (left), guard Kayla Lewis (middle) and guard Cassie Peoples (right) walk off the court following Florida’s 88-81 loss to Ole Miss on Thursday in the O’Connell Center.
