The University of Mississippi Athletics
2016-17 Ole Miss WBB Final Game Notes
4/12/2017 | Women's Basketball
Final Game Notes- 2016-17 Season
Final Game Notes
The Ole Miss women's basketball team concluded its season in the first round of the WNIT with a 78-75 loss to Grambling at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. The Rebels concluded the season with a 17-14 record and reached the postseason for the second time in the last four season's under the direction of head coach Matt Insell.
Starting Five
1. Ole Miss dropped a heartbreaking 78-75 game to Grambling in the first round of the WNIT on March 16. Taylor Manuel led Ole Miss with 28 point as and eight rebounds for her second game of 20 ore more point this season. Shequila Joseph added 11 rebounds in the loss, which ended Ole Miss' season at 17-14.
2. Taylor Manuel's 28 points were the second most points for an Ole Miss player to score in the postseason WNIT. Her 28 points were just three points from tying Armintie (Price) Herrington's WNIT record of 31 points set against Kansas in 2006.
3.Taylor Manuel's 28 points vs. Grambling marked her third consecutive game in double figures and her fifth game in double figures in the last seven outings. Manuel reached double figures in 12 games and is averaged 12.3 points per game over the final seven contests.
4. Ole Miss made its second postseason appearance in the Insell era after reaching the WNIT third round in 2014-15. Ole Miss is 2-2 in postseason WNIT game under Insell and sports a 4-7 all-time record in the postseason WNIT.
5. The Rebels 17-14 record marks the second winning record under the guidance of Matt Insell and his staff. Prior to Insell taking over before the 2013-14 season, Ole Miss had only posted two winning seasons in the last six seasons.
Season Notables
-Ole Miss reached the postseason for the second time under Matt Insell. Ole Miss also reached the postseason in 2014-15 and closed the season with a 19-14 record. The Rebels have averaged 18 wins in the seasons that they have advanced to the postseason.
-Ole Miss snapped a 26-game losing streak to Tennessee with a 67-62 win over Tennessee on Jan. 12 in Oxford. Ole Miss' last win over Tennessee game in 1996, also in Oxford.
-The Rebels also defeated Texas A&M for the first time since 1996 with a 62-49 win over the Aggies on Senior Night. The Rebels had yet to defeat the Aggies since they joined the SEC during the 2012-13 season.
-Ole Miss had two players reached the 1,000-point milestone in 2016-16. Senior Erika Sisk, who entered her senior campaign just 64 points away from the milestone, hit the mark against Jackson State while Sessom picked up her 1,000th point against Texas A&M, becoming the first junior to earn the milestone since Valencia McFarland in 2012-13.
-For the third consecutive season, Ole Miss defeated a ranked opponent, knocking off then-No. 25 Oregon in non-conference action. The win was significant as Oregon advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
-For the second consecutive year, Ole Miss set a new single season attendance record when 8088 people were on hand to see the Rebels take on Jackson State. Ole Miss has posted one of the top 15 crowd in each of Insell's four seasons at the helm of the program.
-Ole Miss posted 11 non-conference wins - the second most non-conference wins in the Insell era with wins over the likes of Wisconsin and Oregon. The Rebels have posted 10 or more non-conference wins twice in the Insell era. Ole Miss had 12 non-conference wins in 2014-15 but two of those came in the postseason WNIT.
-Ole Miss opened the 2016-17 season with 12 consecutive home wins. The 12-game wins streak is the longest in the Insell era and the longest for the women's basketball program since stringing together 15 consecutive home wins in the last 80s.
-Ole Miss's win over Arkansas in its SEC opener marked the third consecutive season Ole Miss has won its SEC opener. Ole Miss is 3-1 in SEC openers in the Insell era and hasn't dropped an SEC opener since 2013-14.
-The Rebels picked up two wins over power five foes in non-conference action with wins over Wisconsin and Oregon. It's the first time in the Insell era and the first time since 2006-07 that Ole Miss has picked up two wins over power five foes in non-conference action.
Player Notables
-Erika Sisk scored her 1,000th career-point in a win over Jackson State. Sisk, who transferred from Murray State, scored 792 of her 1,000 points in an Ole Miss uniform.
-In the regular-season finale against Texas A&M, Shandricka Sessom scored her 1,000th point. She became the second Ole Miss player to score their 1,000th point in 2016-17, joining Erika Sisk. It's the first time in the Insell era that Ole Miss has had two 1,000-point scorers in the same season. Sessom is also the first to reach the milestone as a junior since Valencia McFarland in 2012-13.
- For the first time in her career, Madinah Muhammad led Ole Miss in scoring with 13.0 ppg. The Chicago native increased her offensive production by 5.5 points per game from her freshman campaign. This is the second consecutive season an Ole Miss sophomore has led the team in scoring, as Shandricka Sessom led the team in scoring in 2015-16 with 15.6 points per game.
-Shequila Joseph set a new career-best in rebounds with 13 in a win over Arkansas in the SEC opener. Joseph posted four games with double figure rebounds in 2016-17 and concluded her career with six games of double figure rebounds.
-Taylor Manuel scored 28 points against Grambling in the WNIT. It as the most points for an Ole Miss player in 2016-17. She joins Shandricka Sessom, Madinah Muhammad and Chrishae Rowe as Rebels to score 20+ this season.
-Erika Sisk became the first Ole Miss player since Valencia McFarland to record multiple games of double-digit assists. Sisk had two games of 10 assists on the season and averaged 3.9 assists for the year, which ranked No. 6 in the SEC.
-Ole Miss backup point guard Alissa Alston also picked up her assist numbers in 2016-17, averaging 2.8 assists per game, up 1.3 assists per game from her freshman season. She posted a career-best nine assists against ULM.
-Shelby Gibson had an outstanding freshman season. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee native averaged 6.4 points per game to lead Ole Miss' freshman scorers. She twice earned SEC Freshman of the Week for her efforts - the most for an Ole Miss freshman in the Insell era. Gibson reached double figures in nine games in 2016-17.
-Shelby Gibson became the first player since Armintie Price to open her collegiate career with back-to-back games in double figures and was the first to score in double figures in her collegiate debut since PaSonna Hope in 2010.
Rebels By The Numbers
2- Number of Ole Miss players to reach the 1,000-point milestone this season. Shandricka Sessom earned her 1,000th career point against Texas A&M while Erika Sisk earned her 1,000th career point against Jackson State in the non-conference slate.
7- Number of appearances Ole Miss has made in the postseason WNIT. Ole Miss is 4-7 in the postseason tournament and made its second trip under head coach Matt Insell.
12-Number of points Madinah Muhammad had against LSU in the SEC Tournament. Muhammad has reached double figures in 18 games this season - the second most for an Ole Miss player behind Shandricka Sessom's 23 games in double figures.
26-Number of points Madinah Muhammad had against Missouri on Feb. 23. The 26 points are a career high for the Chicago native and marked her seventh 20-point outing in 2016-17.
1,025- Number of points career points Shandricka Sessom currently has. Sessom became Ole Miss' 28th 1,000 point scorer with 13 points against Texas A&M in the regular season finale on Feb. 26 and the first junior to hit the mark since Valencia McFarland in 2012-13.
