OXFORD — Ole Miss women's basketball began Sunday afternoon's game against Tennessee with a negative milestone. The 27 points scored by the Lady Vols were the most allowed in any quarter by coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin's team this season.

Bit by bit, though, the defense-first Rebels began to look like themselves. The passing lanes narrowed. The shooting windows closed. And the Tennessee turnovers piled up.

From that negative milestone, they gradually carved out a positive one. Their 80-75 victory over Tennessee at the SJB Pavilion marked McPhee-McCuin's first triumph over the Lady Vols since she arrived in Oxford for the 2018-19 season.

Though Ole Miss' defense improved as the game progressed, the driving force for the victory came from one of the best offensive showings of the season by her team, which shot 48.4% from the field and scored 44 of its points in the paint.

Defense helped feed the offensive outburst. The Rebels (15-5, 5-2 SEC) turned 15 turnovers by the Lady Vols (12-7, 5-2) into 15 points in transition.

Several of those came through guard Marquesha Davis, who brought the crowd to its feet with a behind-the-back assist to Madison Scott that contributed to a third-quarter run.

Davis scored 11 of her 25 points in the third quarter, when Ole Miss took command of the game for the first time. After fighting to restore parity in the first half following a poor start, the Rebels took a 63-57 lead into the fourth quarter that they didn't relinquish.

The spectacular assist by Davis was the pick of a highlight reel that didn't lack options.

Leaning on her usual variety of vicious crossovers and crafty stepbacks, Davis finished 12-for-23 from the field. It was the fifth career 20-point showing. Three of them have come in the past month.

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Kharyssa Richardson gives Ole Miss women's basketball boost

Entering Sunday's game, Auburn transfer forward Kharyssa Richardson's Ole Miss career had included four double-figure scoring performances. Three of them had come against programs outside the Power Five. In only one did she shoot above 50% from the field.

Against the Lady Vols, she was both prolific and efficient. By the end of the first half, she had 13 points.

And she collected them from all three levels. Richardson's were the only two 3-pointers made by the Rebels; she showed a willingness to pull up from midrange in transition, and of course, used her 6-foot-2 frame to score inside.

Finishing the game with 21 points on a 9-for-10 effort from the field, Richardson's first-half contributions proved particularly vital.

Thanks to her, the Rebels weathered an efficient performance from the Lady Vols in the first half and went into the break tied at 39.

Up next

Ole Miss heads back on the road for a pair of games, beginning with Vanderbilt on Thursday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+). The Rebels will face No. 1 South Carolina at 1 p.m. Sunday.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss women's basketball beats Tennessee for first time since 2017