Rebels to Host Savannah State

			OLE MISS (3-6, 0-0 SEC) vs. SAVANNAH STATE (3-3, 0-0 OVC) Saturday, Dec. 8 • 2 PM • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Postgame Kids Clinic
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OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss women's basketball returns from finals week to play host to Savannah State for a Saturday afternoon contest at The Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT, and the game will air live on SEC Network +.

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (3-6, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 1st Season at Ole Miss (3-6) • 97-69 career record (6th Season)

Savannah State Lady Tigers (2-4, 0-0 MEAC)
Head Coach: Cedric Baker • 16th Season at SSU (161-286) • 161-286 career record (16th season)

ON THE AIR

Television/Online: SEC Network +
Play-by-Play: Seth Austin
Color: Lindsay Roy

OLE MISS RADIO

Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
Audio: TuneIn / RebelVision

SCOUTING SAVANNAH STATE

Current Record: 2-4, 0-0 MEAC
• Two averaging double-digit scoring
• Shooting .388 as a team
• Out-rebounding opponents by an average of 4.5 per game
• Leads the NCAA in steals per game (19.0)
• Also ranks in the NCAA top-15 in offensive rebounds per game (2nd, 22/game), turnovers forced (2nd, 28.0/game), total steals (4th, 114), blocks per game (5th, 6.8/game), rebounds per game (12th, 47.3/game), turnover margin (14th, +7.83).

Series History
First meeting

2017-18 Record: 5-25, 1-15 MEAC

Players to Watch

#1 Myasia Jones
• 21.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.6 SPG, 16 3PM
• Ranks 16th nationally in both points and steals
• Ranks 26th nationally in threes/game (3.2)

#3 Heniaya Moton
• 11.0 PPG, 3.2 SPG, .400 FG

#11 Jacquece Alston
• 9.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.7 SPG, 4.2 APG
• Ranks third nationally in steals/game
• One of eight in the NCAA to have recorded a triple-double this season (13 points, 12 assists, 12 steals vs. Wesleyan College)

TEAM NOTES

LAST TIME OUT (vs. Jacksonville State)
Ole Miss had trouble finding a way to score against a stout Jacksonville State defense, falling 60-49 to the Gamecocks at The Pavilion on Dec. 2.

The Rebels (3-6) received two more solid scoring outings from Crystal Allen (19 points) and Shandricka Sessom (14 points), but JSU (4-3) used a 40-minute full-court press to force 20 Rebel turnovers while also stymying the inside game for Ole Miss en route to victory.

It was an offensive showcase by both teams in the first quarter, with Ole Miss ripping off a 10-0 run to take a 20-15 lead. The Rebels would only score 29 points the remainder of the game, however, as JSU held Ole Miss to 23.9 percent shooting in the final three quarters after the Rebels drained 52.9 percent in the first frame.

Allen and Sessom were a big part of that first quarter run, combining for 14 of the 20 Rebel points with seven apiece, but both also had to split point guard duties for the second straight game as freshman Mimi Reid remained out with a concussion. Combined with the full-court pressure from the Gamecocks, it made for a difficult day for the Rebel seniors – despite strong scoring outputs.

Combined, Allen (19 points, three assists, two rebounds) and Sessom (14 points, six rebounds, two assists) shot 12-of-29 from the field and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Allen currently has 977 career points, just 23 shy of making her the 30th Rebel to ever pass 1,000. Sessom, meanwhile, passed Erika Sisk (1,187) and Becky Myatt (1,191) to take sole possession of 18th all-time at Ole Miss with 1,197 points scored. She also surpassed 500 career rebounds, putting her in place to become just the 13th Rebel to ever score 1,200 points and record 500 boards.

Junior Jhileiya Dunlap also had another solid game with six points and eight rebounds, her sixth consecutive game with at least six points and four rebounds.

Jacksonville State, meanwhile, was paced by three in double-digits, led by Alabama transfer Destiney Elliott's 20 points and eight rebounds on 8-of-17 shooting. The Gamecocks won the offensive glass, 19-11, and turned 20 Rebel turnovers into 24 points. Entering, JSU was averaging 21.7 turnovers forced on defense per game.

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 97-68.

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.

OFF THE LINE
Ole Miss has had some success keeping opponents off the three-point line, holding opposing teams to 26.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc -- currently the second-best three-point defense in the SEC. Through nine games this year, the Rebels have held seven opponents to less than 30 percent from three -- including six at 25 percent or lower. Last season, Ole Miss held opponents under 30 percent 10 times all season.

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 63.1 points per game, holding eight of nine teams this year to 70 or fewer. Additionally, just two Rebel opponents have shot better than 38 percent overall from the field this 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 146-126. The Rebels have also won the second half in four straight games from Nov. 23-29 by a score of 109-92. Ole Miss has won the fourth quarter in seven games this season, and is shooting 40.3 percent overall and averaging 16.2 points in the final frame.

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 5.5 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 at 79.1 percent.

Seniors Crystal Allen (149 points, 28.9 percent), La'Karis Salter (68 points, 13.2 percent) and Jhileiya Dunlap (64 points, 12.4 percent) have accounted for 53.9 percent of all Ole Miss scoring by themselves.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

SESSOM JOINS RARE COMPANY
Redshirt senior Shandricka Sessom has made her way up the all-time scoring list at Ole Miss, but on Sunday afternoon vs. Jacksonville State she moved into even more rare company with her 500th career rebound. Sessom, now at 1,197 points and 502 boards in her Ole Miss career, is set to become just the 13th Rebel to ever eclipse 1,200 points and 500 rebounds. Throughout her storied career, Sessom has accumulated game averages of 11.2 points and 4.7 boards per game.

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 977. She scored 303 while at Seattle, 525 while at UT-Arlington, and she is already up to 149 points through nine games as a Rebel.

GET THAT OUTTA HERE!
Junior Jhileiya Dunlap has proven to be an effective jack-of-all-trades on the floor for the Rebels, but she has specifically found a knack for swatting away shots. Dunlap has notched 19 of the 36 total blocks by Ole Miss -- putting her second in the SEC and 15th in the NCAA at the moment.

REDEMPTION FOR SESSOM
Redshirt senior Shandricka Sessom put the team on her back in a gutsy Rebel performance vs. TCU on Nov. 29, breaking out of a slow start to her final season at Ole Miss with a demonstrative 19-point, 7-rebound performance against the Horned Frogs. It was a season-high scoring effort out of Sessom in just her second double-digit game of the season after returning from a gruesome ACL injury that occurred exactly one year to the day from her offensive explosion vs. TCU.

In the first quarter vs. Middle Tennessee on Nov. 29, 2017, Sessom went down with the knee injury that would sideline her the rest of the season after seven excellent 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 1,197 points -- currently sitting at 18th on the Ole Miss all-time scoring list after leap-frogging five Rebels in two games in which she scored 19 (vs. TCU) and 14 (vs. Jacksonville State) for her first back-to-back double-digit games of the year.

Below are the next names on the all-time list coming up next for Sessom:

13. Tia Faleru (2011-15) - 1,440
14. Glenda Springfield (1975-79) - 1,432
15. Jackie Martin-Glass (1987-92) - 1,395
16. Tarsha Bethley (1995-99) - 1,378
17. Marilyn Brooks (1981-85) - 1,308

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.

REID RETURNS
Ole Miss starting point guard Mimi Reid returns for the Rebels this Saturday after missing the previous two games vs. TCU and Jacksonville State with a concussion. Prior to her injury, Reid had started all seven games at the point for the Rebels, averaging 5.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Reid still ranks seventh in the SEC at her 4.4 assists dished out each game. Without Reid the last two games, Ole Miss has set a season-low in assists in both games vs. TCU (10) and Jacksonville State (9).

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.

ALLEN MAKES IT RAIN IN PARADISE
Crystal Allen put together an incredible string of performances at the Paradise Jam, 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.

CLASS OF THE SEC
Senior guards Shandricka Sessom and Crystal Allen both have 950 career points scored, making Ole Miss one of just three SEC schools with two active players at or above the 950 mark. Sessom ranks sixth among active SEC scorers with 1,197 points, while Allen's 977 puts her at 10th in the league.

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.

CRAWFORD STEADY FORCE FOR REBS
Despite having to sit out the first two games of the season due to NCAA transfer rules, freshman Gabby Crawford has quickly become a key bench player for the Rebels at the onset of her Ole Miss career. With just two hours advance notice that she was eligible vs. Temple on Nov. 14, Crawford put up six points, three rebounds and two blocks in 15 minutes of work vs. the Owls.

Crawford received her first career start vs. Purdue at the Paradise Jam, and in seven games played she has recorded at least four points and four rebounds six times. 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.

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

Gabby Crawford

Cecilia Muhate

Mimi Reid

La'Karis Salter

Shandricka Sessom

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