Rebels Ready for Sunday Afternoon Tilt vs. ULM

			OLE MISS (1-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. ULM (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) Sunday, Nov. 10 • 2 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
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OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss women's basketball looks to start 2-0 for the 30th time in program history when ULM comes to town for a 2 p.m. contest inside The Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.

PROMOTIONS
• Summer Basketball Camp Reunion
• Postgame Autographs

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (1-0, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 2nd Season at Ole Miss (10-22) • 104-85 career record (7th Season)

ULM Warhawks (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Brooks Donald Williams • 1st Season at ULM (0-0) • 161-130 career record (10th season)

ON THE AIR

Television/Online: SEC Network +
Play-by-Play: Will Kollmeyer
Color: Lindsay Roy

OLE MISS RADIO

Radio: 105.1 FM
Audio: TuneIn
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty

SERIES AT A GLANCE
At Oxford: Ole Miss leads 9-1
At Monroe: Ole Miss leads 5-1
Longest UM Streak: 14 (1986-present)
Biggest UM Win: 57 (12/10/16 - at Oxford)
Biggest ULM Win: 3 (12/3/84 - at Monroe)
Most UM Points: 102 (1/17/94 - at Oxford)
Most ULM Points: 82 (12/2/85 - at Monroe)
Last 10 Meetings: Ole Miss leads, 10-0

SERIES NOTES

Series History
Ole Miss leads, 14-2

Current Streak
Ole Miss, 14

First Meeting
Dec. 3, 1984
• L, 70-67, in Oxford
• One of just three losses during 1984-85 Elite Eight season

Last Meeting
Dec. 10, 2016
• W, 97-40, in Oxford
• Sixth-largest scoring margin in Ole Miss history

Series Notes
• Three of 43 total overtime games in Ole Miss history have come against ULM

SCOUTING ULM

2018-19 Record
10-19, 4-14 Sun Belt

Notes
• First game under new head coach Brooks Donald Williams
• Eight returners, including three that started at least seven games
• Four newcomers
• Top returning scorer: Lauren Fitch (9.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.0 APG)
• Lost top scorer and rebounder Arsula Clark (14.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG)

TEAM NOTES

LAST TIME OUT (vs. MVSU)
Ole Miss women's basketball opened its season by defeating Mississippi Valley State, 72-53, at The Pavilion on Nov. 5.

The Rebels (1-0) shot 47.1 percent in the second half after a slow start, eventually forcing the Devilettes (0-1) into 27 turnovers and a 35 percent clip from the field. Nine of the 10 Rebels that saw the court scored, and the Rebel offense was efficient, recording an assist on 20 of 30 made field goals.

"Good to start the season off with a victory," said Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "As you can see, we're a young team, so the goal is to just continue to find things that we can get better at every game and focus on those things."

Leading the way for Ole Miss was sophomore Taylor Smith, who doubled her previous career high with 18 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Smith also chipped in six rebounds and started off a perfect 4-of-4 from the field via her patented mid-range jumper.

"Taylor's performance is what we see every day," McPhee-McCuin said. "She works extremely hard. I expect Taylor to be consistent. She is someone that has a great mid-range game. The mid-range game is a lost art. She's been working on threes as well. Do we need her to play at a high level this year? Absolutely. She's up for the challenge and really working on it, so I'm happy that she is able to see the results."

Deja Cage also had a great showing offensively, tallying a career-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting in her Ole Miss debut. She was with Ole Miss last year, but had to sit out after transferring from DePaul after her sophomore season.

"Deja is a scoring machine," McPhee-McCuin said. "16 points in 16 minutes, and she's out of shape because she had an injury and could have not been back for another two weeks. She worked really hard with her rehab. Once she gets in shape she'll be even better."

After missing the 2018-19 season, three-point specialist Torri Lewis returned to the starting lineup without missing a beat. She scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, which included a 3-of-5 performance from beyond the arc – the 27th-game during her time at Ole Miss with multiple threes. In her career, 85.5 percent of all of Lewis' made field goals have come from three.

Newcomer Dominique Banks had a strong Rebel debut as well, chipping in seven points and nine rebounds as the main force in the paint for Ole Miss. Other Rebel contributors included newcomers Sarah Dumitrescu (six points, seven rebounds) and Valerie Nesbitt (six points, five assists).

Ole Miss trailed 17-12 after the first quarter, but ripped off a 21-6 margin in the second quarter before winning the third quarter 20-17 and the fourth 19-13.

OLE MISS IN SEASON OPENERS
The Rebels continued its dominance in season openers with the win vs. MVSU on Nov. 5, improving to 40-6 all-time in season openers and 27-1 all-time in home openers. Ole Miss has not lost a home season opener since Nov. 16, 1998 (vs. Clemson, 76-54).

EARLY SEASON SUCCESS
A win vs. ULM on Sunday would continue a long-standing tradition at Ole Miss: winning early. If victorious, this would be the 30th Rebel team in 46 seasons to open the year with a 2-0 record.

SUCCESS AGAINST THE SUN BELT
Ole Miss has a dominant all-time record against current Sun Belt schools, holding a 44-12 record. The Rebels and Warhakws have met more than any other Sun Belt teams, clashing 16 of those 56 times. Of the 10 current Sun Belt teams that Ole Miss has played, the Rebels only hold a losing record against one: New Mexico State (0-1).

SHARING IS CARING
Ole Miss got off to a strong start in the assist department, notching 20 on 30 made field goals against Mississippi Valley State to open the season on Nov. 20. The Rebels had five games with at least 20 assists in 2018-19 after doing so only three times the year prior. Last season, Ole Miss was 6-5 when recording more assists than its opponent, but 3-16 on the opposite end of the spectrum.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

SMITH IN SPOTLIGHT AS SOPHOMORE
Sophomore Taylor Smith emerged as a potent scoring threat for the Rebels after a career day against Mississippi Valley State. Smith, who entered this season with a career-high of nine points scored against Florida last season, doubled that with a demonstrative 18-point performance on 9-of-17 shooting.

Smith started off a perfect 4-of-4 from the field thanks to a deadly mid-range jumper.

CAGE BACK IN THE SWING OF THINGS
Junior Deja Cage showed no signs of having sat on the bench for an entire season, dropping 16 points in just 16 minutes played on 7-of-10 shooting in her first career start. Cage, a DePaul transfer that is also returning from a preseason injury, sat out the entire 2018-19 season due to NCAA transfer rules. The Chicago native played 51 games while at DePaul, averaging 3.5 points per game.

AIR IT OUT, TORRI!
Senior three-point specialist Torri Lewis picked up right where she left off two years ago, draining 3-of-5 from beyond the arc for 11 total points against MVSU to start the season. Lewis, who returned for her redshirt senior season at Ole Miss after sitting out last year due to the birth of her son, A.J., is a career 34.5 percent three-point shooter. In her career, 85.5 percent of all of her field goals have come from three-point distance.

In her career, Lewis owns 27 games with multiple threes -- hitting seven or more threes in a game twice. She knocked down a school-record 10 in a game vs. New Orleans as a freshman in 2015 (the third-most in a single-game in NCAA history), and during her junior year, she nailed seven against Alabama.

During that junior season, Lewis was on fire from downtown in the final month of the season, going 16-of-32 in a stretch from deep from Feb. 1-11. That season, 90 percent of her made field goals were three-pointers and 131 of her 150 attempts were from beyond the arc (87.3 percent).

MIMI DIRECTING TRAFFIC
Sophomore guard Mimi Reid returned to her role as the floor general for the Rebels, notching six assists against MVSU -- the 11th time in her young career she has recorded at least six in a game. Reid was unflappable in this role as a redshirt freshman in 2018-19, spearheading what was an efficient Rebel offensive attack. She was the only player in the SEC last year with separate games of 11+ assists (vs. Louisiana) and 11+ rebounds (vs. Western Michigan), and she led all SEC freshmen with 4.3 assists per game (sixth overall). Reid was also the most efficient shooter for the Rebels last season, knocking down a team-high 40.2 percent of her field goal tries.

DOM ON THE BLOCK
Junior transfer Dominique Banks led a hungry Rebel squad down low against MVSU, recording seven points and leading with nine rebounds. Banks, a transfer from Gulf Coast State Community College, was one of three Rebels with at least six boards against the Devlilettes. Banks was part of an NJCAA national title team in 2019, shooting 52.6 percent from the field for Gulf Coast State.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

YEAR TWO FOR COACH YO
Ole Miss enters the second season of the Coach Yo era with Yolett McPhee-McCuin at the helm in 2019-20.

McPhee-McCuin took over a Rebel program that had just four returners and willed it to outperform all the preseason polls that had picked Ole Miss unanimously to finish last. The Rebels improved their SEC win total by two games from the year before, winning three conference contests – one of which was a thrilling 55-49 win at No. 16 Kentucky on Jan. 13. The win was the first over a ranked team on the road for Ole Miss since 2011 and the first win in general at UK since 2007.

McPhee-McCuin also mentored graduate transfer Crystal Allen, who in her lone season donning a Rebel jersey became one of the most electrifying players in the SEC. Allen finished the season third in the conference at 18.4 PPG and was named second-team All-SEC – the first Rebel to earn All-SEC honors since 2014-15.

BACK FOR MORE
Returning for the Rebels in 2019-20 are senior Torri Lewis, junior Deja Cage and sophomores Iyanla Kitchens, Mimi Reid and Taylor Smith. The three Ole Miss sophomores, however, were the only Rebel returnees to have seen action last season, as Lewis redshirted due to the birth of her son, A.J., and Cage sat out due to NCAA transfer rules.

FRESH FACES
Ole Miss will feature eight fresh faces this season:

#1 Sarah Dumitrescu • Fr. • G • 6-0
• Bucharest, Romania
• IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida)
• Dual citizen of the United States and Romania
• Four-star prospect by Prospect Nation (No. 49 overall), three-star by ESPN
• On 2017 U18 FIBA team for Romania

#3 Donnetta Johnson • So. • G • 5-11
• Queens, New York
• Georgia transfer; will sit out 2019-20
• Played in 27 games, starting eight
• SEC Freshman of the Week after win vs. #13 Tennessee
• #28 guard nationally out of Baldwin High School

#4 Valerie Nesbitt • Jr. • G • 5-8
• Nassau, Bahamas
• Chipola College transfer
• Averaged 17.1 PPG and shot 45 percent last year
• First-Team All-Conference
• Played on the Bahamian National Team under Coach Yo

#12 Jordan Berry • Fr. • G • 5-7
• New Orleans, Louisiana
• Mount Carmel Academy
• Part of four state tournament teams
• Second-Team All-State in 2019
• Class Valedictorian

#13 Dominique Banks • Jr. • F • 6-5
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Gulf Coast State CC transfer
• Helped GCSCC win NJCAA title in 2019
• Shot 52.6 percent in 2019
• Averaged a double-double her senior year of high school at Maynard Jackson

#20 Jayla Alexander • Fr. • G • 5-9
• Pearl, Mississippi
• Pearl High School
• #1 player in Mississippi, #81 nationally
• 19.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 6.9 APG, 5.5 SPG
• 6A state championship game MVP

#25 Bryn Parker • Fr. • G • 6-0
• Scottsdale, Arizona
• Pinnacle High School
• Led team to 6A semi-state title in 2019
• 10.5 PPG, 9.2 RPG in 2019
• First-Team All-Region in 2019

#40 Andeija Puckett • Jr. • C • 6-2
• Griffin, Georgia
• Cincinnati transfer; will sit out 2019-20
• Part of WNIT team in 2019
• Played in all 35 games in 2018-19
• Top-100 recruit (18.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG)

REPLACING GREATNESS
Ole Miss will have to replace several significant contributors in 2019-20 after losing an excellent senior class last season. The four graduated seniors -- Crystal Allen (18.4 PPG), Cecilia Muhate (3.3 PPG), La'Karis Salter (8.1 PPG) and Shandricka Sessom (9.7 PPG)-- combined for 65.9 percent of all Rebel scoring last year.

Allen, the first Rebel to earn All-SEC honors in five years with a second-team nod, lit the net on fire, finishing the regular season third in the SEC at her 18.4 PPG.

VALUABLE EXPERIENCE
The three Rebel sophomore returnees -- Iyanla Kitchens, Mimi Reid and Taylor Smith -- all earned valuable experience as freshmen in 2018-19. All three started at least three games, combining for 41 total starts and a combined minute average of 19.1 per game. Reid received the most playing time, starting in 26 of 29 games played, while Smith tallied 12 starts of her own in 30 games played.

SMILE FOR THE CAMERA
Ole Miss will be featured on national television five times during the regular season, with all five on SEC Network. First is a Monday night primetime matchup at Texas A&M on Jan. 6. Two more road SEC Network games follow at Mississippi State on Jan. 26 and Vanderbilt on Feb. 9 before a home TV tilt vs. Arkansas on Feb. 16. Ole Miss wraps up its regular season SEC Network appearances with a trip to Missouri on Feb. 23. Additionally, all non-televised home games and road SEC games will be broadcast on SEC Network+. The entirety of the SEC Tournament (March 4-8, Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina) will air on a combination of SEC Network, ESPNU and ESPN2.

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

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Players Mentioned

Jayla Alexander

Crystal Allen

Dominique Banks

Jordan Berry

Deja Cage

Sarah Dumitrescu

Donnetta Johnson

Iyanla Kitchens

Torri Lewis

Cecilia Muhate

Bryn Parker

Andeija Puckett

Mimi Reid

La'Karis Salter

Shandricka Sessom

Taylor Smith

The University of Mississippi Athletics