Rebels Host Tough TCU Squad for SEC/Big 12 Challenge

			OLE MISS (3-4, 0-0 SEC) vs. TCU (4-1, 0-0 Big 12) Thursday, Nov. 29 • 8 PM • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) #NoCeilings T-Shirts • SEC/Big 12 Challenge
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OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss women's basketball will continue to push through a string of tough matchups when TCU comes to The Pavilion on Thursday night for the nationally televised SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (3-4, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 1st Season at Ole Miss (3-4) • 97-67 career record (6th Season)

TCU Horned Frogs (4-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Head Coach: Raegan Pebley • 5th Season at TCU (75-61) • 231-236 career record (16th season)

ON THE AIR

Television/Online: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Pam Ward
Color: Carolyn Peck

OLE MISS RADIO

Play-by-Play: Graham Doty (@GrahamDoty)
Color: Lindsay Roy
Audio: TuneIn / RebelVision

SCOUTING TCU

Current Record: 4-1, 0-0 Big 12
• Received votes in AP Top-25 last week
• Three averaging double-digit scoring
• Shooting .451 as a team, .343 from 3PT
• Rank in the NCAA top-25 in blocks (9th, 6.6/game) and assist/turnover ratio (24th, 1.26)

Series History
Ole Miss leads, 3-0

First Meeting
Nov. 26, 1993
• W, 82-67, in Fort Worth
• Season opener

Last Meeting
March 18, 2007
• W, 88-74, in Hartford
• First Round of NCAA Tournament
• Ole Miss advanced to its fifth Elite Eight that year
• Asst. Coach Armintie Herrington was a member of that team

Last Time in Oxford
Dec. 2, 1994
• W, 95-56

2017-18 Record: 23-13
• Advanced to WNIT Semfinals
• Lost to eventual WNIT champions, Indiana
• Returning eight letterwinners and all five starters

Players to Watch

#22 Jordan Moore
• 15.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, .596 FG
• Preseason Honorable Mention All-Big 12
• Preseason Lisa Leslie Award Watch List

#25 Kianna Ray
• 14.2 PPG, 6.2 APG, 3.6 RPG, 3.0 SPG, 1.6 BPG
• .478 FG, .563 3PT
• Has made 18 threes; 14th-most in NCAA
• Leads Big 12 in 3PT percentage
• 18th NCAA in assists

#00 Amy Okonkwo
• 12.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, .533 FG
• Preseason All-Big 12
• Preseason Katrina McLain Award Watch List
• 2017-18 Big 12 Sixth Man
• 2017-18 Second-Team All-Big 12

TEAM NOTES

LAST TIME OUT (at the Paradise Jam)
Ole Miss is coming off a long trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the 2018 Paradise Jam, where the Rebels ran into stiff competition in No. 2 UConn, Purdue and St. John's.

UConn, coming off its 10th straight Final Four appearance, took Game One over the Rebels, 90-50. Ole Miss showed fight throughout, and even took the fourth quarter, 23-21, but the Huskies drained 50.7 percent of their shots toward victory. Crystal Allen and Shannon Dozier both led Ole Miss with 11 points.

The Rebels and Boilermakers fought blow-for-blow in a lightning-quick first quarter, but Purdue stymied Ole Miss to just 2-of-12 in the second quarter and held off a late push by the Rebels for a 70-59 win. Crystal Allen again led the charge for the Rebels with 13 points.

On the final day, Ole Miss lost a 64-59 nail-biter to St. John's, who just one night prior had become only the fourth team in the last five seasons to hold UConn to less than 70 points. The Rebels ripped off a 20-3 run to claw back from a 30-18 halftime deficit, but the Red Storm couldn't miss from the free throw line, hitting 27-of-33 overall and 13-of-15 in the fourth quarter alone. Crystal Allen put together the best scoring output of her career, scoring 26 points -- 23 of which came in the second half.

ROAD TO 100
First-year head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin may have just started her Ole Miss career, but she stands just three wins away from hitting the century mark for her career -- currently sitting at an overall mark of 97-67.

McPhee-McCuin is in her sixth season overall as a head coach, spending the previous five seasons as the head coach at Jacksonville. There, she guided the Dolphins to a 94-63 overall record, three-straight 20-win seasons and three postseason appearances.

OLE MISS VS. THE BIG 12
The Rebels hold a 16-12 record all-time vs. current Big 12 schools. Ole Miss has winning records vs. Kansas (2-0), Kansas State (1-0), Oklahoma (2-1), Oklahoma State (2-0), TCU (3-0) and Texas Tech (2-1). The Rebels trail vs. Baylor (1-2) and Texas (1-6), and have an even record vs. West Virginia (2-2).

OFF THE LINE
Ole Miss has had some success keeping opponents off the three-point line, holding opposing teams to 27.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc -- currently the fourth-best three-point defense in the SEC. Through seven games this year, the Rebels have held five opponents to less than 30 percent from three -- including four at 25 percent or lower. Last season, Ole Miss held opponents under 30 percent 10 times all season.

LATE GAME SUCCESS
The Rebels have showed a consistent resiliency throughout the season in the late stages of games, as Ole Miss is currently beating opponents in the fourth quarter by an advantage of 128-97. Ole Miss has won the fourth quarter in all seven games this season, and is shooting 44.6 percent overall and averaging 18.3 points in the final frame.

NO POINTS FOR YOU
Even after allowing 90 points to powerhouse UConn at the Paradise Jam, Ole Miss is still holding opponents to a respectable 64.7 points per game, holding six of seven teams this year to 70 or fewer. Additionally, just two Rebel opponents have shot better than 38 percent overall from the field this season.

YOU GO, WE GO
Fifth-year senior La'Karis Salter has quickly taken on a leadership role in her first year at Ole Miss, and when she's on, so too are the Rebels. In Ole Miss wins, Salter is averaging 11.7 PPG and 8.3 rebounds, while on the opposite end she is averaging just 7.3 PPG and hauling in just 4.3 rebounds per game in Rebel losses.

NEWCOMERS TAKING CHARGE
With nearly a brand-new roster, it's easy to assume that the Rebel newcomers would be statistically proficient. But the new transfers and freshmen for Ole Miss have taken that to a new level, accounting for more than three-quarters of all Rebel scoring thus far a 83.5 percent.

Seniors Crystal Allen (122 points, 29.3 percent), La'Karis Salter (63 points, 15.1 percent) and Jhileiya Dunlap (48 points, 11.5 percent) have accounted for 55.9 percent of all Ole Miss scoring by themselves.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

ALLEN MAKES IT RAIN IN PARADISE
Crystal Allen put together an incredible string of performances at the Paradise Jam last week, scoring 50 points in three games vs. UConn (11), Purdue (13) and St. John's (26). Allen was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts after averaging 16.7 PPG in those three games, shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 45.0 percent from beyond the arc along the way.

ALLEN NEARING 1,000 POINTS
Crystal Allen is getting close to becoming the 30th Rebel to ever surpass the 1,000-point mark for her career, currently sitting at 950. She scored 303 while at Seattle, 525 while at UT-Arlington, and she is already up to 122 points through seven games as a Rebel.

CRYSTAL SHARP
Grad transfer Crystal Allen has been the offensive catalyst for the Rebels thus far this season, accounting for nearly a third of all Ole Miss scoring. Allen has scored at least 11 points in all seven of her games as a Rebel thus far, giving her 122 points this year at an average of 17.4 PPG -- sixth-best in the SEC. She has eclipsed 20 points twice this year, first scoring 21 in a loss vs. IUPUI before dropping a career-high 26 points on St. John's -- 23 of which helped spark a superb second-half comeback for the Rebels. Her 26-point performance vs. the Red Storm was the most by a Rebel since Torri Lewis hung 26 on Alabama on Feb. 11, 2018.

Allen came to Ole Miss following two seasons at UT-Arlington and two seasons at Seattle. Her final year at UT-Arlington, Allen earned Third-Team All-Sun Belt after helping lead the Mavericks to an 18-12 season with 11.7 PPG.

NO REST FOR CRYSTAL
Crystal Allen hasn't seen much of the bench this season, currently ranking fourth in the SEC and 20th in the NCAA in minutes at 34.9 per game -- the most by a Rebel this year by three minutes over starting point guard Mimi Reid's 31.9 minutes per game.

REDEMPTION FOR SESSOM
Redshirt senior Shandricka Sessom returns for one last go-round in a Rebel jersey following a gruesome ACL injury vs. Middle Tennessee last season after just seven games played. Sessom, who was averaging 17.7 PPG at the time of her injury, was awarded a fifth year of eligibility on a medical hardship waiver.

MOVIN' ON UP
Shandricka Sessom ranks as the active career scorer for the Rebels at 1,164 points -- currently tied for the 23rd-most in Ole Miss history with Kris Stratton (1978-81). Sessom became the 28th 1,000-point scorer in program history vs. Texas A&M on Feb. 26, 2017. In her three full seasons of play, she averaged 341.6 points. If she were to maintain that average this season, Sessom would finish her career ranked 13th all-time.

Below are the next few ahead of her on the list. Just 27 points separate Sessom from 18th place:

18. Becky Myatt (1997-2001) - 1,191
19. Erika Sisk (2012-17) - 1,187
20. Charlotte Banks (1989-92) - 1,181
21. Shawn Goff (2005-09) - 1,179
22. Amber Watts (2001-05) - 1,169

SALTER HEATING UP OFFENSIVELY
Senior La'Karis Salter has been a steady force for the Rebels in rebounding, leading Ole Miss with 6.0 boards per game thus far, but in her last five games, Salter has recorded double-digit scoring three times -- including back-to-back games vs. Temple (14 points, 5-of-7 FG) and Western Michigan (13 points, 12 rebounds). Her double-double vs. the Broncos is the first of her career, and the second by a Rebel this season after Jhileiya Dunlap's season-opening 12 point, 10 rebound outing.

REID NAMED SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Last week, Ole Miss starting point guard Mimi Reid was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for her efforts in Rebel wins vs. Temple and Western Michigan.

Reid averaged 6.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in those two games, recording a career-high 11 rebounds against WMU. Coupled with La'Karis Salter's 12 rebounds, the game marked the first time since Jan. 1, 2017 that multiple Rebels had recorded double-digit rebounds.

Reid is averaging 4.4 assists per game this year, currently tied for the seventh best average in the SEC and 38th in the NCAA.

CRAWFORD CLEARED
Freshman Gabby Crawford had just two hours advance notice that she was cleared and immediately eligible to play vs. Temple on Nov. 14 night, and the four-star recruit out of Munford, Tennessee, did not waste the opportunity. In just 15 minutes of action, Crawford put up six points, hauled three rebounds and blocked two shots. Crawford was originally committed to Alabama before transferring to Ole Miss at the beginning of the semester.

Crawford received her first career start vs. Purdue at the Paradise Jam, and in those three games in the Virgin Islands she played at least 19 minutes and hauled in at least five rebounds. She tallied a career-high nine points and six rebounds vs. St. John's.

CECI FROM...THREE?
Senior Cecilia Muhate may have found a new way to contribute offensively for the Rebels with a newfound ability to shoot the deep ball. In her three seasons prior, Muhate had never even attempted a three-pointer, but in the season-opener vs. Norfolk State, Muhate put up three attempts from beyond the arc. It wasn't until Nov. 14 vs. Temple that Muhate connected, draining 2-of-3 from three-point land to give her 10 points -- her first double-digit scoring game since scoring 10 points vs. South Alabama on Dec. 9, 2017.

GET THAT OUTTA HERE!
Junior Jhileiya Dunlap has proven to be an effective jack-of-all-trades on the floor through three games as a Rebel, but she has specifically found a knack for swatting away shots. Dunlap has notched 14 of the 27 total blocks by Ole Miss -- putting her sixth in the SEC and 12th in the NCAA at the moment.

DUNLAP'S BIG DEBUT
A return from shoulder injury wasn't going to slow down junior Jhileiya Dunlap in her first game as a Rebel vs. Norfolk State, proving her talent immediately as an all-around player. Dunlap notched the first Rebel double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 boards, but she didn't stop there, tallying four blocks, three steals and two assists in the effort as well.

Dunlap spent the previous two seasons at Gulf Coast State Community College, where she was part of two NJCAA semifinalist teams -- including a national title team in 2017. Dunlap was the Gatorade Player of the Year in South Carolina in 2015-16 coming out of high school.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Ole Miss has five seniors in 2018-19, with returnees Cecilia Muhate, Torri Lewis and Shandricka Sessom joining newcomer transfers Crystal Allen (UT-Arlington) and La'Karis Salter (Jacksonville) in the senior class.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Crystal Allen (UT-Arlington) and La'Karis Salter (Jacksonville) aren't the only newcomers to the Rebel roster. Other transfers include junior Jhileiya Dunlap from Gulf Coast State Community College, junior Shannon Dozier from Odessa College, and junior Deja Cage from DePaul. Cage will have to sit the 2018-19 season out due to NCAA rules.

Ole Miss also welcomed four new freshmen to Oxford this fall in Gabby Crawford (Munford, Tenn.), Mahogany Matthews (Raeford, N.C.), Taylor Smith (Marietta, Ga.) and Iyanla Kitchens (Lithonia, Ga.).

A NEW ERA
Ole Miss women's basketball stands on the cusp of a new era with Yolett McPhee-McCuin entering her first season as the ninth head coach in program history. McPhee-McCuin was named head coach on April 4, 2018 and introduced in a public ceremony two days later on April 6.

McPhee-McCuin, who also serves as the national coach for her native Bahamas, comes to Ole Miss following five seasons at Jacksonville, where she took the Dolphins to heights never before glimpsed in the history of the program. Her JU teams notched three-straight 20-win seasons to close out her career there, despite Jacksonville only recording two seasons above the 20-win plateau prior to her arrival.

Yolett McPhee-McCuin Coaching Career:
2019-Pres. -- Ole Miss, Head Coach
2014-18 -- Jacksonville, Head Coach
2011-13 -- Clemson, Assistant Coach
2009-10 -- Pittsburgh, Assistant Coach
2008 -- Portland, Assistant Coach
2006-07 -- Ark.-Pine Bluff, Assistant Coach
2005 -- Frank Phillips College, Assistant Coach

Record at Jacksonville:

Total (Five Seasons): 94-63, 50-24 ASUN

2017-18
24-9, 12-2 (2nd ASUN)
ASUN Tournament Runners-Up
WNIT First Round

2016-17
23-9, 11-3 (3rd ASUN)
ASUN Tournament Runners-Up
WNIT First Round

2015-16
22-11, 11-3 (2nd ASUN)
ASUN Tournament Champions
NCAA Tournament First Round

2014-15
12-17, 6-8 (4th ASUN)

2013-14
13-17, 10-8 (5th ASUN)

NEW STAFF
McPhee-McCuin's first task once arriving in Oxford was to surround herself with a brand new coaching staff. For her first season, that cast includes Chris Ayers, Tony Greene, and Ole Miss All-American Armintie Herrington, who was promoted from her previous position as the Coordinator of Player Engagement.

Chris Ayers - First Season
• Spent a decade in the high school and AAU ranks prior
• Has coached more than 100 athletes who went on to play either collegiately, professionally or both
• Graduate manager at Georgia Tech in 2017-18

Tony Greene - First Season
• More than 20 years of experience collegiately
• Has been part of 11 total postseason berths
• Conference Player of the Year at Langston

Armintie Herrington - Fifth Season
• Seventh season on staff at Ole Miss, the fifth as an assistant coach after serving from 2009-12
• No. 3 pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft (Chicago Sky)
• In 2007, became second player in NCAA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 400 assists and 400 steals

MORE NEW FACES
McPhee-McCuin has also brought on a new support staff, while keeping on sixth-year senior athletic trainer Meredith Pendergast.

Dana Rieger
Director of Operations

Tim Boeni
Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach

Michonné Gamble-Rivers
Coordinator of Player Development

Ed Mahan
Coordinator of Video Services

Chelsea Wolf
Assistant Director of On-Campus Recruiting

Sandy Dickinson
Recruiting Assistant

SMILE FOR THE CAMERA
Ole Miss will be featured on national television seven times during the regular season, with all seven appearances on SEC Network. First up is a home contest in the Big 12/SEC Contest vs. TCU on Nov. 29. Other home games on SEC Network include a Jan. 6 tilt vs. Arkansas and a Jan. 20 showdown with Florida. The remaining SEC Network games all come on the road at Kentucky (Jan. 13), at Mississippi State (Jan. 27), at Georgia (Feb. 18) and at Arkansas (Feb. 24). Additionally, all non-televised home games and road SEC games will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB on Instagram at Ole MissWBB and on Snapchat with the handle @OleMissWBB. You can also follow head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on Twitter at @YolettMcCuin

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Players Mentioned

Crystal Allen

Deja Cage

Gabby Crawford

Shannon Dozier

Iyanla Kitchens

Torri Lewis

Mahogany Matthews

Cecilia Muhate

Mimi Reid

La'Karis Salter

Shandricka Sessom

Taylor Smith

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