Rebels Fall in Hard-Fought Contest to IUPUI, 66-58

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss women's basketball put up a tough fight against an upstart IUPUI squad, but several timely Jaguar runs and a clutch performance out of the Horizon League preseason player of the year proved too much in a 66-58 loss at The Pavilion on Friday night.

The Rebels (1-1) were neck-and-neck with the Jaguars (2-0) throughout the first half – even holding them to an 18.2 percent clip in the first quarter – but IUPUI rode on the backs of Macee Williams (23 points, 12 rebounds) and Sydney Hall (17 points) toward a big second half en route to victory.

"I knew this was going to be a challenging game for us," said Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "To play a team like IUPUI that has just come off a postseason run and brought all of their players back, you can tell that they've been playing for a long time."

Ole Miss jumped out to an 11-5 lead to start the game, picking up right where they left off vs. Norfolk State, but the Jaguars didn't falter and kept the Rebel momentum from growing, pushing toward a 14-14 tie at the end of the first frame. IUPUI took the second quarter 16-13, but it was the third quarter where the dam broke loose, as the Jaguars won the quarter, 20-14, after shooting 61.5 percent from the field.

The Rebels didn't falter, though, and pushed back in the last quarter, coming within five points in the final 33 seconds, but Ole Miss put IUPUI on the line 11 times in the fourth to ice the game.

All in all, it was a Jaguar advantage in free throws (17-of-22) and rebounds (52-34) that ended up being the difference in an otherwise evenly-fought, back-and-forth affair.

"Rebounding is will. Period," McPhee-McCuin said. "We have to pursue the ball, and I don't think we pursued the ball."

Ole Miss wasn't without its bright spots, though, as senior Crystal Allen put together another spectacular night with 21 points, five boards, one block, one steal and one assist. Her performance tonight is the sixth-best individual scoring output in the SEC this season, and combines with her 16-point effort vs. Norfolk State for a strong first week of action as a Rebel.

"Crystal is a competitor," McPhee-McCuin said. "She loves to play. She is going to give 100 percent, 100 percent of the time when she is out there."

Friday night also saw the first double-digit scoring effort from senior Shandricka Sessom, who played in her second game in a return from a season-ending knee injury last season. Sessom ended with 11 points, four boards, two blocks and one steal – moving her to 1,145 career points scored.

However, three Jaguars scored in double-digits and were led by Williams, who was also named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year last season in addition to her being tabbed as the conference player of the year this preseason.

"She carried them, in my opinion," McPhee-McCuin said. "23 (points) and 12 (rebounds), that's impressive. There's a reason why she got preseason player of the year in their conference."

Up next for the Rebels is another home contest, this time welcoming the Temple Owls to The Pavilion next Wednesday (Nov. 14), with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

"Right now, we're learning how to win, and we're learning how to win through adversity," McPhee-McCuin said. "In order to win, you can't just want to win in your heart. You have to be willing to do what it took, and IUPUI did what it took to win on the road."

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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Team Stats

Crystal Allen

Shandricka Sessom

Dunlap Jhileiya

Cecilia Muhate

Players Mentioned

Crystal Allen

Shandricka Sessom

Players Mentioned

Crystal Allen

Shandricka Sessom

The University of Mississippi Athletics