The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Travel To Take on No. 2 South Carolina
1/26/2016 | Women's Basketball
Game Notes - at No. 2/2 South Carolina - Game 20
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Fresh off a win over then-No. 9 Kentucky, the Ole Miss women's basketball team will travel to Columbia, South Carolina to take on No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 6 PM CT /7 PM ET from South Carolina's Colonial Life Arena. Fans can catch the game on SEC Network+ and can also listen to live audio on OleMissSports.com and 105.1 FM and 105.5 FM locally with Graham Doty and Armintie Herrington.
Game 20: Ole Miss (10-9, 2-4 SEC) at South Carolina (19-0, 7-0 SEC)
Date: January 28, 2016
Time: 6 PM CT/7 PM ET
Location: Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena)
Television: SECN+
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com
Livestats:
Live Video: SECN+
Starting Five
1. Ole Miss got back in the win column by knocking off No. 9 Kentucky, 73-65, last Thursday at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Shequila Joseph led the way with 21 points while going 5-of-7 from long range. The win was Ole Miss second straight over a ranked Kentucky team and the first win over an AP-ranked top 10 team since 2010.
2. Shequila Joseph was named SEC Player of the Week for her efforts in Ole Miss' win over the Wildcats. It's Joseph's first career SEC Player of the Week honor and the first league honor for a Rebel since A'Queen Hayes earned SEC Freshman of the Week last season. Joseph is one of seven SEC players to earn the honor this season.
3. Shandricka Sessom and Madinah Muhammad have been leading the Ole Miss offense since beginning SEC play. Sessom is averaging 11.0 ppg and has been in double figures each of the last three games and Muhammad is averaging 9. 0 ppg. Sessom is also leading the way on the glass with 5.2 rpg vs. SEC opponents.
4. Ole Miss is arguably the youngest team in the SEC this season. Ole Miss has 13 players on the roster and nine of those players are freshmen or sophomores. The Rebels are the lone team in the SEC without a senior and Ole Miss has only two players who have been in the program for more than two years in Shequila Joseph and Bretta Hart.
5. Ole Miss and South Carolina will be meeting for the 36th time on Thursday with the Gamecocks owning a 18-17 series advantage. The Gamecocks have won the last six meetings between the teams and Thursday's match will be the third consecutive in which the Gamecocks are ranked as one of the top 3 teams in the country.
Ole Miss vs. South Carolina Notables
-The Gamecocks lead the all-time series, 18-17, and have won the last six meetings between the teams. Ole Miss is searching for its first win over South Carolina since the 2010 season and the first win in Columbia since a 66-65 win on Feb. 8, 2009. South Carolina owns a 9-5 record on its home floor against the Rebels.
-This will be a homecoming for sorts of Ole Miss graduate manager, Brett Ball, who come to Ole Miss after spending four years as a student assistant with the Gamecocks. Ball, who was recruited to play basketball at South Carolina, discovered she had a heart condition and was unable to play for South Carolina but served as the team's embedded sideline reporter during her four years in Columbia.
-There are a pair of Tennessee women's basketball alums roaming both sidelines. Ole Miss' assistant coach Alex Simmons and South Carolina's Nikki McCray-Penson both played for the legendary Pat Summitt at Tennessee.
A Win Would
-Give Ole Miss back-to-back wins over ranked opponents for the first time since Ole Miss' Elite Eight run in 2006-07. It would also be the highest ranked opponent Ole Miss has defeated since a 77-74 win over No. 5 LSU in 2006-07.
-Snap South Carolina's current six-game win streak in the series and give Ole Miss its first win in Columbia since the 2010 season. It would also be South Carolina's first loss of the season.
-Move the Rebels five wins way from the 800th victory in program history. Ole Miss' current record is 794-480. The earliest Ole Miss could hit the 800th win would be on Feb. 11 vs. Auburn and they would become the sixth SEC program to record 800 wins.
Rebels By The Numbers
3- Number of ranked opponents Ole Miss has defeated under the direction of Matt Insell and staff. The No. 9 ranked Wildcats are the highest ranked opponent Ole Miss has defeated in the last six years.
5- Number of three pointers reigning SEC Player of the Week Shequila Joseph nailed against Kentucky. Her five triples tied her career-best and was her fourth game of multiple three-point field goals this season.
12- Number of points the Rebels came back from in their SEC opening win over Vanderbilt. Ole Miss trailed by 12 with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter and closed the game on a 20-5 run to record their first come-from-behind win of the season and second of the Matt Insell era.
21- Number of points Shequila Joseph scored in Ole Miss' 73-65 upset of No. 9 Kentucky. It was Joseph's third career game of 20 or more and her second this season. The 21 points tied her career high.
108- Number of points Erika Sisk is away from 1,000 career points. Sisk has scored 495 points in an Ole Miss uniform to go with 395 from her freshman season at Murray State. Sisk will need to average 10.6 ppg the remainder of the season to reach the milestone this year.
Scouting South Carolina
South Carolina comes in at the top of the SEC leaderboard with a perfect 19-0, 7-0 SEC record after defeating No. 10 Mississippi State, 57-51 on Sunday. A'ja Wilson leads the Gamecocks with a team-best 16.0 points per game. Tiffany Mitchell and Alaina Coates are also in double figures with 14.9 and 12.2 points, respectively. Coates is leading the way on the glass with 9.6 rebounds per game while Wilson is contributing 9.2 rebounds per game. In SEC action, the Gamecocks have four in double figures with Mitchell leading the way with 16.3 points per game and Coates adding 10.7 rebounds per game. As a team, South Carolina is averaging 75.7 points per game and 41.8 rebounds per game.
About Ole Miss
Sophomore Shandricka Sessom continues to lead the Ole Miss offense with 16.0 points per game and has reached double figures in 167of 19 games this season. Her 16.0 points currently ranks No. 6 in the SEC. Erika Sisk is also in double figures with 10.3 points per game. In SEC action, Sessom is leading the team with 11.0 points per game. Madinah Muhammad is also nearing double figures against SEC foes with 9.0 points per game. Bretta Hart leads the rebounding efforts with 6.2 rebounds per game, while Sessom is contributing 5.9 boards per game. As a team, Ole Miss is averaging 72.5 points per game and grabbing 41.9 rebounds per game and each player on the roster is contributing at least 2.0 points per game.
Up Next
Ole Miss will head back to the Pavilion at Ole Miss to host No. 22 Missouri on Sunday. The game will be televised on SEC Network with Paul Sunderland and Gail Goestenkors on the call. Fans will also be able to hear Graham Doty and Armintie Herrington locally on 105.1 and 105.5 locally and on OleMissSports.com.
