Vanderbilt's shot at its first regular season Southeastern Conference championship took a serious stumble in Oxford.
Kayla Melson's layup gave Mississippi the lead with 6 seconds left, and what seemed like a game-tying shot by Vanderbilt sophomore guard Jence Rhoads was overturned, preserving the Rebels' stunning 71-69 win over No. 18 Vanderbilt on Sunday.
Auburn defeated Georgia 65-59 on Sunday to move back into first and clinch at least a share of the regular season title with Vanderbilt. Either an Auburn victory in its final regular season game against Arkansas or a Vanderbilt loss in its finale at Tennessee, both on March 1, will give the Tigers the title. The Commodores have, however, clinched a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament starting March 5.
Melson's layup was her only basket of the game, pushing the Rebels (16-12, 5-8) to a late two-point lead. But Rhoads, who finished with 13 points, dribbled the length of the floor and put up a two-point attempt at the top of the key as the buzzer sounded. The shot went in, seemingly forcing overtime, but video replay confirmed the ball left her hands after time had expired.
Bianca Thomas led the Rebels with 25 points.
Christina Wirth paced the Commodores (21-7, 10-3) with 20 points. Vanderbilt had won its previous four games, including two wins over top-10 opponents in then-No. 9 Florida and No. 3 Auburn to move into first place in the SEC.
Vanderbilt led by three points at halftime, but Ole Miss outscored the Commodores 38-33 in the second to seal the win.
The Associated Press and David Rutz contributed to this article.
