The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Looking for Bounce-Back at Florida
1/19/2018 | Women's Basketball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. â€" Ole Miss women's basketball heads to the Sunshine State in search of another win over the Florida Gators, with tipoff set for noon on SEC Network at Exactech Arena on Sunday.
TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (11-6, 1-3 SEC)
Head Coach: Matt Insell • 5th Season at Ole Miss (69-74) • 69-74 career record (5th Season)
Florida Gators (9-10, 1-5 SEC)
Head Coach: Cameron Newbauer • 1st Season at Florida (9-10) • 88-60 career record (5th season)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: SEC Network | Play-by-Play: Jenn Hildreth; Color: Steffi Sorensen
Radio: 105.1 / 105.5 FM | Play-by-Play: Graham Doty; Color: Lindsay Roy
Audio: RebelVision (OleMissSports.com)
SERIES NOTES (Florida leads, 20-17)
At Oxford: Florida leads 12-6
At Gainesville: UM leads, 10-8
At Neutral Sites: Ole Miss leads 1-0
Longest UM Streak: 8 (1979-1992)
Longest UF Streak: 11 (1993-2002)
Biggest UM Win: 24 (1/16/88 - at Gainesville)
Biggest UF Win: 29 (2/17/00; 2/5/12)
Most UM Points: 101 (3/8/78 - at Starkville)
Most UF Points: 86 (2/7/99 - at Oxford)
Last 10 Meetings: Tied 5-5
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TEAM NOTES
TOUGH STRETCH
After opening the season on a historic 9-1 run, the Rebels have run into a brutal stretch of schedule against some of the toughest teams in the nation. Over the last eight games, the Rebels are 2-6, but that includes four ranked losses to No. 9 Oregon, No. 4/5 South Carolina, No. 3/4 Mississippi State and No. 11/12 Missouri. Combined, those eight opponents are 104-41 (.717), with those four ranked opponents a combined 67-7 (.905).
However, Ole Miss ranks in the top-100 in strength of schedule (56) and RPI (95), and both numbers are sure to continue increasing after games at No. 6 Tennessee (Jan. 25) and against No. 3 Mississippi State again at home on Jan. 28 to close the month.
LAST TIME OUT (vs. #11/12 Missouri)
Ole Miss freshman Promise Taylor put in a double-double effort, but No. 11/12 Missouri rode a 20-2 run to open the game to a 67-48 victory over the Rebel women's basketball team at The Pavilion on Jan. 18.
Ole Miss was out-rebounded 52-28 by a relentless Missouri assault on both ends of the court, proving why they were worthy of knocking off the defending national champions, South Carolina, earlier this season.
That first quarter set the tone for the night, with the Tigers nailing 60 percent of their shots from the field. The Rebels were without starting point guard Alissa Alston (seven points) for much of the first half due to foul trouble, but Taylor -- who ended with 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for her second career double-double -- put up nine in the first half to help pace Ole Miss.
Ole Miss also received a double-digit effort out of Madinah Muhammad (11 points), but Mizzou countered with a strong outing from national player of the year candidate Sophie Cunningham (20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists) amongst three total Tigers in double-digit scoring and rebounding.
ALL-TIME VS. FLORIDA
The Gators hold a 20-17 lead over the Rebels in the all-time series, which has been a back-and-forth affair for quite some time. Ole Miss is currently on the first two-game winning streak in the series since Florida took three in a row from 2008-10 following the Rebels' double-overtime win on Jan. 7.
This ping-ponging is quite contrary to how the series began. Ole Miss took the first eight meetings from 1979-92, but Florida responded by taking the next 11 games from 1993-2002.
The double-overtime win at home was the first in Oxford for Ole Miss since 2004 (79-72), but the Rebels hold a 10-8 advantage in Gainesville, including the last three contests there.
VALUABLE EXPERIENCE
The silver lining to losing someone as valuable as Shandricka Sessom so early in the season is that plenty of Rebels are gaining valuable starting experience early in their careers. Of the 11 active Rebels on the roster, 10 have started a game for Ole Miss this season -- five of whom are underclassmen. Ole Miss has used nine different starting lineup combinations, including the most recent one of Alissa Alston, Madinah Muhammad, Chyna Nixon, Shelby Gibson and Promise Taylor.
OVERTIME DROUGHT ENDS
Ole Miss went to overtime for the first time in 96 games vs. Florida on Jan. 7, winning in double-overtime, 78-75. The streak was the 10th-longest active streak in the NCAA entering the game.
Here are the previous OT games that were outdone by the contest vs. Florida:
Last OT:
Dec. 29, 2014, vs. SE La. (W, 79-71, OT)
Last SEC OT:
March 3, 2014, vs. Auburn (W, 73-71, OT)
Last Multiple OT:
Feb. 7, 2010, at LSU (W, 102-101, 3OT)
Last Multiple OT at Home:
Feb. 4, 2007, vs. Arkansas (W, 90-87, 2OT)
Active Streak Without OT (as of Jan. 4):
1. Maryland -- 162
2. Little Rock -- 141
3. South Carolina -- 139
4. Marist -- 138
5. Manhattan -- 117
6. Marshall -- 110
7. South Alabama -- 103
8. Illinois -- 102
9. Oregon -- 98
10. Ole Miss -- 96
BLOCK PARTY
Ole Miss has been a dominant force in shot blocking this season, thanks primarily to freshman center Promise Taylor. The Rebels rank 32nd in the NCAA in blocks per game (5.1) and 29th in total blocks (92) -- 49 of which come from Taylor, who ranks 13th in total blocks and 15th in blocks per game (2.7). The Rebels have blocked at least five shots in nine games this year and at least four in 15 contests.
Because of the surge in blocked shots, the Rebels -- at 5.1 blocks per game -- are currently on pace for 148 total blocks by season's end, potentially destroying the current single-season record of 129 set in 1982-83.
SHOWING UP IN THE CLUTCH
Ole Miss has come up clutch in games decided by 10 points or fewer, going 5-1 in such games. In those games, the Rebels are only shooting .266 from three and are being out-rebounded by nearly four boards a game (44.2-40.5), but are finding a way to stay ahead with a .398 shooting percentage (while holding opponents to just .363 overall).
Junior Alissa Alston is the Rebels' top scorer in such games by far with 21.0 PPG and a .500 clip from the field and an .792 mark from the free throw line. Fellow junior Madinah Muhammad is second at 16.7 PPG with a blistering .915 mark from the charity stripe.
Last season, Ole Miss went 5-6 in 10-point games.
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INDIVIDUAL NOTES
MUHAMMAD CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Juinor Madinah Muhammad is closing in on history after passing 900 career points following an 11-point outing vs. No. 11/12 Missouri on Jan. 18. Muhammad has exploded for 314 points through 18 games, giving her plenty of time to pass by her previous career single-season high of 365 set as a sophomore last year.
Muhammad is on pace to become one of the top scorers in Ole Miss history, currently on pace for 1,096 by the end of her junior season using her current 17.4 PPG average. If she does, she will become the 29th Rebel to ever eclipse the 1,000-point threshold. She would also become the second junior in as many seasons to pass the milestone (senior Shandricka Sessom did so in 2016-17), and the third in the last six seasons (Valencia McFarland, 2012-13).
DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR PROMISE
Freshman Promise Taylor recorded her second career double-double against No. 11/12 Missouri on Jan. 18, putting up a 16-point and career-high 13-rebound performance against the Tigers to pace Ole Miss.
Taylor, the SEC's top-ranked freshman in shooting percentage (.585, sixth overall) and the nation's 15th-best shot blocker (2.7/game), recorded her first-career double-double with a 15-point and 11-rebound game vs. Arkansas State on Dec. 2. Taylor received her first start since Dec. 19 vs. Mizzou.
ON PACE FOR GREATNESS
Freshman Promise Taylor is on pace to break the single-season blocks record. At her current pace of 2.7 per game, Taylor would have 78 total blocks by season's end -- passing the previous record of 67 set by Shawn Goff in 2007-08.
GETTING THOSE MINUTES
They not only lead the Rebels in scoring, but juniors Madinah Muhammad and Alissa Alston have seen an extraordinary amount of court time in the past few games as well. The duo played 95 percent of all Rebel minutes in four games from Dec. 31 to Jan. 11 (170 total minutes), with Alston playing 167 minutes (98.2 percent) and Muhammad 156 minutes (91.8 percent).
Both rank in the top-three of minutes played in SEC play, with Muhammad ranking second with 38.8 and Alston third with 38.6.
Muhammad started the run with a 40-minute game vs. Texas Southern on Dec. 28, and has played no fewer than 37 minutes in a game since with marks of 40 vs. TSU, 40 at Arkansas, 38 vs. South Carolina, 41 vs. Florida in double-overtime and 37 at Mississippi State.
Alston has been in the same boat, playing at least 38 minutes from the Arkansas game until the Mississippi State game, culminating with an absurd 49 minutes played against Florida.
#SplashSisters, PART DEUX?
With one half of the #SplashSisters, senior guard Shandricka Sessom, out for the season due to a torn ACL, it's been junior point guard Alissa Alston that has picked up the slack and formed a formidable duo with fellow junior Madinah Muhammad.
At the time of her injury, both Sessom and Muhammad were scoring a combined 38.2 points per game -- 45.7 percent of all Rebel scoring at that point. Since that game vs. Middle Tennessee, Alston has given Ole Miss a boost with 15.2 PPG in those 12 games -- including a career-high 27 points vs. South Alabama and additional 20-point outings vs. Middle Tennessee (22) and at Portland State (21).
Since Sessom's injury, Alston and Muhammad have combined for 31.0 PPG.
DOUBLE-DIGIT STREAK FOR MUHAMMAD
Junior guard Madinah Muhammad has barely had a cold moment on the floor this season as the top scorer for the Rebels.
Muhammad currently ranks sixth in the SEC at 17.4 points per game and has only been held under double-digits twice in 18 games played this year. Additionally, Muhammad has scored at least 19 points eight times this season, she has eclipsed 20 six times and she recorded the first 30-point game at Ole Miss since 2015 with a career-high 30 vs. Arkansas State.
Muhammad is currently on a career-long seven game streak in double-digit scoring. Muhammad also scored three straight games with at least 20 points for the first time in her Rebel career earlier this season.
HEARTBREAKING LOSS
Senior and Preseason Second-Team All-SEC member Shandricka Sessom tore her ACL during the closing minutes of the first quarter vs. Middle Tennessee on Nov. 29, ending her season. Sessom, who was averaging 17.7 PPG, will redshirt and return in 2018-19.
Sessom currently ranks as the 24th-best scorer in Ole Miss history with 1,131 career points scored.
TOURNAMENT TEAMS ON THE DOCKET
Ole Miss plays 12 schools in 2017-18 that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2016-17. The Rebels came out victorious against the first, Troy (96-93), and won at Temple, 64-48, before losing at No. 9 Oregon on Dec. 17, vs. No. 4/5 South Carolina on Jan. 4, at No. 3/4 Mississippi State on Jan. 11 and vs. No. 11/12 Missouri on Jan. 18.
Troy (Nov. 21, W, 96-93)
1st Round, lost to runner-up Mississippi St.
Temple (Nov. 25, W, 64-48)
1st Round, lost to Oregon
No. 9 Oregon (Dec. 17, L, 90-46)
Elite Eight, lost to UConn
Texas Southern (Dec. 28, W, 73-58)
1st Round, lost to Baylor
No. 4/5 South Carolina (Jan. 4, L, 88-62)
Defending NCAA Champions
No. 3/4 Mississippi State (Jan. 11, L, 76-45; Jan. 28)
Defending NCAA runners-up
No. 11/12 Missouri (Jan. 18, L, 67-48)
2nd Round, lost to Florida State
Tennessee (Jan. 25, in Knoxville)
2nd Round, lost to Louisville
Texas A&M (Feb. 8, in College Station)
2nd Round, lost to UCLA
LSU (Feb. 15, in Baton Rouge)
1st Round, lost to Cal
Kentucky (Feb. 22, at home)
2nd Round, lost to Ohio State
Auburn (Feb. 25, in Auburn)
1st Round, lost to NC State
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.
