Ole Miss shocks Stanford and LSU defeats Michigan in second round

The Ole Miss Rebels and LSU Tigers both advanced to the Sweet Sixteen on Sunday. Here are our recaps of their second-round games:

No. 8 seed Ole Miss Rebels over No. 1 seed Stanford Cardinal 54-49

In arguably the upset of the tournament, Ole Miss took down No. 1 seed Stanford in a tight game that came down to the closing seconds when Madison Scott stole the ball from Haley Jones and secured the victory with a pair of free throws.

Ole Miss quickly established itself as not just a scrappy underdog team but a force of nature that would be difficult to deal with. They came out on an 11-6 run and stayed in control, never trailing the entire game.

Stanford was never far behind and it always felt like they were a couple of minutes away from taking control of the game. Cameron Brink was spectacular at defending the basket. She had monster block after monster block, ending the night with seven to go along with her 20 points and 13 rebounds.

All the credit goes to the Rebels for this win. They forced Stanford into uncomfortable situations and gave them fits with their defense forcing 21 turnovers. Cardinal guard Haley Jones struggled with the suffocating defense, having five turnovers herself.

When Ole Miss needed a basket, their guard combo of Angel Baker and Marquesha Davis was there to deliver. Both ended the night in double figures and with four rebounds. In the fourth quarter, with the game still hanging in the balance, Davis hit a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game and put away Stanford for good. Another Jones turnover on an inbound play and the upset was fully realized. Stanford made a valiant effort, but Ole Miss was the better team. They’ll face off against the winner of Louisville vs. Texas in the Sweet Sixteen.

No. 3 seed LSU Tigers over No. 6 seed Michigan Wolverines, 66-42

Angel Reese and company took care of Michigan fairly quickly thanks to a dominant performance in the first half. LSU held Michigan to under nine points in the first two quarters, giving them a 15-point advantage entering the second half.

LSU never let them back in the game and Reese was a big reason why. She had 25 points, 24 rebounds and six blocks. Hard to think of how she could’ve been any more dominant.

Now Sweet Sixteen bound, LSU has to take on Utah. This will be the first game of the tournament where they will be underdogs. Can they pull off the upset? We know they have the star power to make noise, but it will be difficult. Kim Mulkey might want to consider playing more than six players in her rotation against the Utes. She only gave six significant minutes against Michigan.