The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Open 2014-15 Season with First Practice
10/5/2014 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. - After big win over the Alabama football team, the Ole Miss women's basketball team heated things up on the hardwood with its first official practice of the 2014-15 season inside the Tuohy Center on Sunday afternoon.
The Rebels are entering the second year of the Matt Insell era and showed progress throughout the 2013-14 season, saving their best basketball for late in the year as they won two of their last three contests, including a thrilling 63-62 win over Arkansas in the SEC Tournament - the first SEC Tournament win for Ole Miss since 2010.
"It was the first day with a lot of new players on our roster, said head coach Matt Insell. "Lot of teaching and getting a lot of drills in, so it goes a little slower than you like the first day, but the big thing that was there the whole time was tempo. We've got to take our tempo to another level. We have to push the basketball and play fast for us to be successful this year. We have to play fast not only offensively but defensively. Getting that tempo right is going to be a work in progress, but I feel good about where we're at with it today."
Ole Miss welcomes eight new faces to the roster this season including local product Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss.), who joins the basketball team after playing her freshman year at Murray State in 2012-13 before coming back to run track at Ole Miss last season before joining the women's basketball team. The Rebels also welcome several Mississippi natives in Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.), A'Queen Hayes (Horn Lake, Miss.) and Kiara Golden (Olive Branch, Miss.)
Insell acknowledged that this first practice has a much different feel that last season's first practice.
"It's 100 percent a different feel," said Insell. "Now we have a lot more options at different positions. There is a lot of competition on the court, where as last year we didn't have the numbers so the competition wasn't there, so practice is definitely a different feel from last year."
The head coach noted that the squad is currently working on developing mental toughness, a trait that will serve the team throughout the season.
"The big thing we have to do right now is develop some mental toughness and we've done a lot of that this summer and fall in our workouts, but now you're at a different level so you've got to bring even more mental toughness. That's the big thing we're trying to develop this season, we want to become a more mentally tough basketball team.
Ole Miss kicks off the 2014-15 campaign in earnest on Nov. 14 when they host Grambling in the 12th annual School Kids game at 11 a.m. at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
Women's basketball season tickets are available for purchase and are just $50. For additional ticket information, go to OleMissTix.com or call the Ole Miss Ticket Office at 1-888-REB-TKTS (732-8587.)
For all Ole Miss women's basketball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole Miss_WBB. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women's basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell
