Iwuala scores 21 with 10 boards, No. 13 Ole Miss women top George Mason 81-67

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Christeen Iwuala scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and No. 13 Mississippi defeated George Mason 81-67 on Saturday at the Coast 2 Coast Classic.

The Rebels (7-0) controlled the third quarter to open a 22-point lead and weathered a run from the Patriots (5-4) in the fourth quarter to finish 2-0 in the tournament.

Debreasha Powe and Cotie McMahon each added 14 points for the Rebels, who shot 55% (29 of 53) but were just 19 of 30 from the foul line, including 11 of 18 in the fourth quarter when the lead dwindled to eight. Latasha Lattimore had 11 points off the bench.

Zahirah Walton scored 20 points and Kennedy Harris had 19 for George Mason, which shot 40% and missed nine free throws.

There were 52 fouls and 58 free-throw attempts in the game.

Ole Miss scored the first 12 points of the game but George Mason was within 16-9 after one quarter. The Patriots cut the deficit to one in the middle of the second quarter but Ole Miss used an 8-0 run to help build a 38-28 lead at the half.

Powe scoring seven, including a 3-pointer that made it 62-40, keyed a 14-2 run in the third quarter. The Patriots scored the first eight of the fourth quarter and a Walton layup had them within 70-62 with 2:27 to go. The Rebels made 9 of 12 from the line after that.

Ole Miss plays host to No. 19 Notre Dame on Thursday in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

George Mason is home against Fordham on Wednesday.

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