Nye hits 7 3s and scores career-best 32 points as No. 18 Alabama tops Ole Miss 84-78

OXFORD, Miss. -- — Aaliyah Nye hit seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 32 points as the No. 18 Alabama women bounced back from a humbling loss to beat Mississippi 84-78 on Sunday.

The Crimson Tide was crushed 84-40 at No. 5 Texas Thursday.

Ole Miss took a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes and the Rebels held a 17-14 lead to start the second quarter. Nye hit a jumper to start a 6-0 Alabama run to take the lead and Nye and Zaay Green hit back-to-back from deep to give the Tide the lead for good with under two minutes left in the half.

Green hit from behind the arc and added a layup and JeAnna Cunningham hit the second of two free throws to push the Alabama lead to 12 points late in the third quarter, 51-39. Nye hit three 3-pointers in the fourth to help keep Ole Miss at bay, but the Rebels got 3-pointers from Tameiya Sadler and KK Deans in the final minute to get within five before Nye added a late free throw for the final margin.

Nye, who was just 1 of 8 from beyond the arc against Texas, was 7 of 11 from 3-point range. Green was 4 of 5 from distance to add 27 points and Diana Collins contributed 11 points. The Tide (16-2, 3-1 SEC) was 12 of 19 as a team from deep and 28 of 50 from the floor.

Starr Jacobs had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead Mississippi (11-5, 2-2). Deans scored 13 points off the bench and Kennedy Todd-Williams and Christeen Iwuala each added 11 points.

Alabama returns home to play host to No. 2 South Carolina and Ole Miss plays host to Florida Thursday.

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