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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Kentucky
Ole Miss Falls to Wildcats
1/26/2017 | Women's Basketball
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Ole Miss (13-8, 2-6 SEC) just couldn't get anything going against Kentucky in an 89-57 road loss on Thursday night. Shelby Gibson (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) lead the way with 15 points - just one point shy of her career best.
Madinah Muhammad (Chicago, Ill.) added 13 points for her second straight game in double figures and her 11th this season, while Alissa Alston (New Haven, Conn.) added 11 points. Gibson and Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss.) lead the way on the glass with four rebounds each.
Ole Miss put together a 7-0 run behind six points from Gibson midway through the third quarter to cut into the Kentucky lead. Gibson's third quarter points put her in double figures for the seventh time this season and the second time in SEC play. Taylor Manuel (St. Louis, Mo.) was also a bright spot in the third frame, scoring six points. The Ole Miss bench scored 32 points and Rebel underclassmen accounted for 47 of Ole Miss' 57 points.
Ole Miss couldn't get anything to fall in the first half, shooting just 26.9 percent in the first half and scoring a season-low six points in the second quarter. The Wildcats took advantage of Ole Miss miscues and scored 22 points off 15 Ole Miss turnovers in the first half. Gibson and Muhammad led Ole Miss with seven and five points, respectively.
The Rebels scored the first basket of the game, but it was all Kentucky in the first quarter. The Wildcats rattled off eight straight points, forcing head coach Matt Insell to take a timeout. Out of the break, Gibson nailed her sixth triple of the season, but Kentucky capitalized on eight first-quarter turnovers, scoring 10 points and taking a 24-12 lead at the end of the opening period, an advantage they pushed to 28 points near the end of the second quarter.
From The Head Coach
Opening statement…
"We didn't have it. Kentucky did. We didn't play very hard and when you don't play hard you get your butt kicked. That is what happened tonight."
On defensive play…
"No, it was just not playing hard. We didn't play hard offensively, we didn't play hard defensively. We didn't communicate with each other offensively and defensively. We come up here, thinking we have beaten Kentucky two years in a row. Trust me, they know that and they came out and played harder. It showed from the start. Every time Taylor Murray wanted to get a rebound, she got it. It was on the scout, she is one of the best rebounding point guards in the league and it showed tonight. Every time Makayla Epps wanted to get the basketball, she went and got it. Evelyn Akhator got every rebound. Offensively, we had 10 turnovers and I think it was 20 points off of those turnovers. It wasn't like Kentucky was doing anything special to stop us. I coached here for five years. We used to turn people over 50 times. I think we turned Louisville over 42 times one time. Kentucky wasn't pressing, they were just sitting back. We have to start figuring out that we have the blue jerseys on and we have to throw it to our teammates. We have to play hard."
On where to go from here…
"We go back home and play Georgia. I mean, Georgia just got beat like this up here a couple of weeks ago. We have 13 wins. We have eight games left. We know what we have to do. We have put ourselves in this hole. We have a good team. I would love to play this game again. I would love to suit right back up and play again because I guarantee we will play better after the next two days of practice. I have never had a team not play hard and I didn't think we played very hard. Kentucky played a lot more motivated than us and a lot harder than us. I will say one thing: Makayla Epps is a special player. She has been a special player in this league for four years. I have so much respect for that kid and I hope she has big things coming for her in the future. I hugged her at the end and I told her that I am very proud of her and how she has shaped her game. She has been a special player here at Kentucky and I hope people in this state continue to realize that because she is a special player."
Rebel Sidelines
-Today's game was a Homecoming for Ole Miss head coach Matt Insell, who spent six years on Matthew Mitchell's staff at Kentucky before taking over at Ole Miss.
-Freshman Bree Glover, a Glasgow, Ky., native had about 30 friends and family in town to see her face the Wildcats. She scored five points back in her home state.
-Ole Miss debuted its fourth lineup of the season, tonight as Cecilia Muhate earned her first start of the season and second of her career.
-Ole Miss has dropped 13 straight SEC road games with tonight's loss, dating back to the 2014-15 season.
-With the loss, Ole Miss leads the all-time series 22-17, and the Kentucky win snaps a two-game win streak for the Rebels in the series.
-Madinah Muhammad was in double figures for the second straight game and the 11th time this season with 13 points.
-Gibson was a point shy of tying her career best with 15 points and was in double figures for the seventh time this season.
Up Next
Ole Miss is back at The Pavilion at Ole Miss to host Georgia on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT with the game airing on SEC Network+ with Richard Cross and Lindsay Roy on the call.
Next Five Games
Jan. 29 - vs. Georgia 2 PM
Feb. 6 - at Florida 6 PM
Feb. 9 - vs. LSU 6 PM
Feb. 12 - vs. Mississippi State 3 PM
Feb. 16 - vs. Auburn 8 PM
Keep Up With the Rebels
Keep up to date with the Ole Miss women's basketball team throughout the season on social media. 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 on Instagram at Ole MissWBB and on Snapchat with the handle @OleMissWBB. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women's basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell.
