The University of Mississippi Athletics
Seniors Remain Relentless in the Face of Adversity
2/26/2015 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. -- This year's trio of seniors, Tia Faleru, Danielle McCray and Amber Singletary, have already helped lead the Ole Miss women's basketball program to many firsts.
They have helped the Rebels to their first win over a ranked team since the 2010-11 season, and then repeated the feat, something they had not done since the 2009-10 season. They have also helped the Rebels to their first winning regular-season record since the 2009-10, positioning themselves for their first postseason appearance, also since 2009-10.
Now, with a couple of more wins, they want to accomplish one more first: The program's first NCAA Tournament appearance, something it has not experienced since the 2006-07 season. And it starts with Senior Night against LSU on Thursday.
"It's bittersweet," said Faleru of Senior Night. "Those are my emotions right now. It really didn't hit me until these last couple of games that it's about to be over. I wish I had one more year, but unfortunately it's coming to an end. I'm just trying to get my team to where they're supposed to get. Senior Night is going to be a big game to get to the NCAA Tournament, so I have to play big and come up with a big win."
Before this season, this group of seniors had been four head coaches in three seasons, the latest being second-year head coach Matt Insell, the first coach they have had in back-to-back seasons. They had not won more than 12 regular-season games or two Southeastern Conference games, but they stayed, growing closer through the adversity, and they're beginning to see results come their way.
"A lot of people talk about different situations when you take over as a coach," Insell said. "I don't know if there was a situation in the country that was as bad for these three seniors as there has been for any coach coming into a job. A lot of times you have coaching changes and things like that, but what these three seniors had experienced over their first two years is unheard of.
"Them having to go through that and having to be strong through that, and you're the fourth person that has asked them to trust them and believe in them. That's tough. It was a rough situation here, and I feel really good that these three seniors have been a major part in taking a bad situation and turning it into a great situation, and I'll always credit that to them."
All the adversity, Singletary said, makes you appreciate when things are going well. Even this season, the best of their Ole Miss career, they have experienced adversity and as recently as last week. Ole Miss had lost seven straight, before bouncing back with a road win at Auburn, clinching postseason eligibility, and then coming home and knocking off No. 13 Kentucky, keeping hope of an NCAA Tournament appearance alive.
"We're relentless," Faleru said. "Nothing can stop us. Despite the losses and everyone saying we weren't going to win any more games, we had to prove them wrong. We were tired of everyone telling us what we can't do; why not do what we can do. That's what had been holding us back. Coach Matt told us to keeping fighting, and that's what we're doing."
"It's a big difference going into games and knowing that you can win, rather than going into games and just trying to compete," Singletary said. "This year, we know we can actually win games, and we go into games with that confidence. Coach Insell has done a good job instilling that confidence in us and changing the culture around here."
With an 16-11 overall and 6-8 SEC record, ahead of their final two regular-season games and the SEC Tournament, Ole Miss has likely locked up an appearance in the Postseason WNIT, and whether they play their way into the NCAA Tournament, they are as much responsible for changing the culture as Insell has been over the last two seasons.
Insell tells them every day that the program this is going to get right because of them, and his relationship with them is not a two-year relationship, but a lifetime relationship with him and the program they have helped restore.
"I have told them that we're going to win an SEC Championship in this program one day," Insell said. "I don't know when that day is going to come, but we're going to do that sometime in the next four or five years here. When we do win that SEC Championship, these three seniors, they will experience that with us because they were on the ground floor of getting this thing back right.
"They're going to be a part of that, and they're going to be getting championship rings when we get them because of the hard times they have fought through. I'm really proud of the three of them and I'm glad I have been able to coach them the last two years."
Austin Miller is a writer and blogger for OleMissSports.com. He joined the staff in June 2013 after serving as sports editor of the Daily Mississippian. Follow him on Twitter@austinkmiller.
