Rebels Ring in New Year, Open SEC Play vs. Georgia

			OLE MISS (7-6, 0-0 SEC) vs. GEORGIA (9-4, 0-0 SEC) Thursday, Jan. 2 • 6:45 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Youth Basketball Night
Watch • Live Stats • Listen • Buy Tickets Ole Miss Game Notes (PDF) • Georgia Game Notes (PDF) • SEC Game Notes

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss women's basketball opens the new year and the SEC slate when it hosts Georgia at The Pavilion on Thursday night.

Tipoff is slated for 6:45 p.m. CT as part of SEC Network's SEC Women's Basketball Whiparound, with host Alyssa Lang and analysts Andy Landers and Steffi Sorensen live in studio beginning at 6 p.m. CT to breakdown the action and provide live look-ins to every game in the whiparound window. Each matchup can be watched in its entirety on SEC Network + via the ESPN App on connected devices.

PROMOTIONS
• Youth Basketball Night

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (7-6, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 2nd Season at Ole Miss (16-28) • 110-91 career record (7th Season)

Georgia Lady Bulldogs (9-4, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Joni Taylor • 5th Season at Georgia (90-48) • 90-48 career record (5th season)

ON THE AIR

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

OLE MISS RADIO

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

SERIES AT A GLANCE
At Oxford: Georgia leads 10-9
At Athens: Georgia leads 19-1
At Neutral Sites: Georgia leads 6-3
Longest UM Streak: 2 (1989-90; 2009-10)
Longest UGA Streak: 6 (1981-87; 1999-2003)
Biggest UM Win: 29 (2/12/94; 2/1/92 - at Oxford)
Biggest UGA Win: 42 (1/16/03 - at Athens)
Most UM Points: 90 (1/22/04 - at Oxford)
Most UGA Points: 96 (1/16/03 - at Athens)
Last 10 Meetings: Georgia leads 8-2

SERIES NOTES vs. GEORGIA

Series History
Georgia leads, 35-13

Current Streak
Georgia, 2

First Meeting
Feb. 7, 1980
• W, 80-70, in Knoxville
• First round of the first ever SEC Tournament

Last Meeting
Feb. 18, 2019
• L, 78-56, in Athens

Last Time in Oxford
Feb. 19, 2018
• L, 66-52

Last Win
Jan. 29, 2017
• W, 69-62, in Oxford
• Rebels erased 12-point first half deficit
• Shandricka Sessom: 16 points

Last Win in Athens
Jan. 24, 2010
• W, 66-65
• Win was over No. 8 Georgia; put Ole Miss into a tie with Tennessee in the SEC rankings
• First ever Rebel win in Stegeman Coliseum
• Bianca Thomas: game-winning three-pointer with 5.1 seconds left
• Would be the last AP top-10 win for Ole Miss for six years

SCOUTING GEORGIA

Record
9-4, 0-0 SEC

Last Game
W, 67-50, vs. East Carolina
• Four in double-digits: Jenna Staiti (14), Maya Caldwell (11), Gabby Connally (10) and Javyn Nicholson (10)
• Shot 42.6 percent, held ECU to 30.3
• 19-of-26 from the free throw line

Notes
• RPI: 57
• Shooting .413 as a team, allowing .363
• Out-rebounding opponents by an average of 40.2-35.8 per game
• Ranks 2nd SEC, 45th NCAA in free throw shooting (45th, .743)

Players to Watch

#2 Gabby Connally
•13.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.9 SPG
• .396 FG, .344 3PT, .867 FT
• 2nd SEC, 30th NCAA in FT shooting
• 4th SEC in minutes played (31.9/game)
• 9th SEC in steals

#14 Jenna Staiti
• 10.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.3 BPG
• .514 FG, .852 FT

#11 Maya Caldwell
• 10.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.2 SPG
• .405 FG, .905 FT

TEAM NOTES

LAST TIME OUT (vs. Alabama State)
The Ole Miss women's basketball team closed out the non-conference season in style, scoring the most points by a Rebel team in more than two years amid an explosive 93-66 win over Alabama State at The Pavilion on Dec. 28.

Ole Miss (7-6) didn't let a slow first quarter get in its way. After losing the first frame 14-11, the Rebels came out in the second and ripped off a 12-0 run, which was all the momentum they would need en route to a spectacular second half of basketball. Ole Miss topped its season-high quarter total twice in the second half after a third frame of 31 and a fourth of 29, assisted by a sharp-shooting and efficient offense. Six Rebels scored in double digits, the most by an Ole Miss squad since seven did so against Winston-Salem State on Dec. 20, 2009.

"We needed a night like this," said Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "We needed to be able to score and get out in transition and see what it felt like to play a fun brand of basketball again, especially with the bear of the SEC that we're getting ready to go into."

On the day, Ole Miss shot 52.3 percent overall and 60 percent from the three-point line – both season-highs – but it was the volume of three-pointers that helped the Rebels separate. Ole Miss went 12-of-20 from beyond the arc, helped greatly by four threes each from leading scorer Deja Cage (20 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, 4-of-4 3PT) and senior Torri Lewis (12 points, 4-of-10 3PT) – the 30th career game for Lewis with multiple trifectas.

The 12 threes stand as the most by an Ole Miss team since knocking down 14 against North Florida one year ago today on Dec. 28, 2018. The Rebel offense also recorded a season-best 24 assists on 34 made field goals, the most since that same North Florida game last season. Ole Miss won key advantages in points in the paint (38-32), points off turnovers (23-10), fastbreak (10-4) and bench scoring (30-16). The Rebel defense showed up as well, forcing 18 turnovers while holding the Lady Hornets (3-8) to 33.8 percent overall and 16 percent from three-point distance.

"I thought that our team really controlled the pace of the game, which was really good for us," McPhee-McCuin said. "When we score a lot of points it's because we get out in transition and we push the ball. I thought we did that well, and I thought we made good decisions. We shared the ball at a high level today with 24 assists."

Cage led all scorers with 20 points, her fourth 20-point game as a Rebel. Sophomore point guard Mimi Reid had an excellent day, recording her second career double-double with 16 points (career high) and 10 assists with zero turnovers – which ties for the most assists in the SEC this season. Reid was clutch from the free throw line as well, going 5-of-5 to help the Rebels to a team clip of 86.7 percent from the charity stripe.

Junior Valerie Nesbitt had an all-around superb outing off the bench as well, scoring 13 points while also chipping in seven rebounds, seven assists, four steals and a block – with nine of her points coming in the second half, pushing her season second-half average to 7.2 points (her overall season average stands at 11.6). Nesbitt, the SEC leader in steals at 3.2 per game, has had six games this season with at least four takeaways.

Aside from Lewis' 12 points, other Rebels in double-digits included freshman Jayla Alexander (12 points, four assists, four steals, three rebounds) and sophomore Taylor Smith (10 points, three rebounds). Junior Dominique Banks had another great game as well, recording seven points, four rebounds, four blocks and two steals. Banks entered ranked second in the SEC in blocks, and Saturday marks her third game with at least four blocks this season.

"We're on the right track for where we want to go, I've just got to keep our kids uplifted through this because I call the SEC a jungle," McPhee-McCuin said. "We're getting ready to go into the safari, and we better not have butter knives. We better be ready to fight. We're going to lean on the players that played in it last year to understand that, and as coaches we're way more prepared because we've been through the jungle one time before."

OLE MISS IN SEC OPENERS
Ole Miss enters Thursday at 22-15 all-time in SEC overall openers and 24-13 in SEC home openers. This marks the first time Ole Miss and Georgia have played in an overall SEC opener since Jan. 8, 2009 in Oxford (W, 62-54). In overall openers, Ole Miss is 1-3 against Georgia and 1-1 in home openers.

DAUNTING SCHEDULE AHEAD
Ole Miss not only runs into the yearly gauntlet of SEC season this Thursday against Georgia, but it also starts a slate of some of the nation's top squads. Nine of the SEC's 14 teams currently reside in the NCAA RPI top-100, with Georgia resting at No. 57 with a 9-4 record. Ole Miss holds the nation's 43rd-toughest future schedule according the the NCAA's strength of schedule rankings.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION VS. ALABAMA ST.
The Rebels put together an impressive offensive performance against Alabama State on Dec. 28, with their 93 points standing as the most by an Ole Miss team since notching 96 against Troy on Nov. 21, 2017. That was just the beginning of the notes for the Rebels, who scored a season-high quarter total twice with 31 in the third and 29 in the fourth, while also recording a season-high 12 three-pointers and 24 assists -- the most by an Ole Miss team in both categories since Dec. 28, 2018 vs. North Florida.

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
Ole Miss had six double-digit scorers in the big 93-66 win over Alabama State on Dec. 28, the most since seven Rebels eclipsed double digits against Winston-Salem State more than 10 years ago on Dec. 20, 2009 (W, 101-46). Since that game in 2009, Ole Miss has recorded at least five double-digit scorers in 10 games, and have only done so in consecutive games once in back-to-back outings against Mississippi State on Jan. 21, 2010 (W, 66-58) and at No. 8 Georgia on Jan. 24, 2010 (W, 66-65). Ole Miss is 9-1 in those games in that span, with the only loss coming at No. 9 Baylor on Dec. 18, 2013 (L, 87-80).

DEADLY FROM DISTANCE
Ole Miss has found a sweet spot lately from beyond the arc, currently ranking sixth in the SEC in three-point shooting at a season percentage of 33 and seventh in threes per game at an average of 5.4. After going 9-of-41 (.220) over a three-game stretch from Nov. 29 to Dec. 4, the Rebels have ripped off a 31-of-81 (.383) clip in the last four games, led by a season-best 12-of-20 (.600) outing against Alabama State on Dec. 28.

OFF THE LINE
Ole Miss has proved difficult to damage from distance, ranking fourth in the SEC at an opposing three-point percentage of 26.3 while holding opponents to five or fewer three-pointers in 11 of 13 games this season. Just one Rebel opponent has shot better than 33 percent from distance, with Pitt shooting 41.2 on Nov. 30. Recently, the Rebel defense held Louisiana to a season-low 1-of-10 clip from the three-point line, the third time in the last two seasons that Ole Miss has held an opposing team to one three-point field goal. Ole Miss is among just four SEC schools to rank in the top-six of both three-point shooting and defense this year.

In the Coach Yo era, three-point defense has been a point of emphasis, holding opponents to five threes or fewer in 28 of 44 games in her two seasons. Last season, Ole Miss held 17 opponents to 30 percent or less from three, including 12 that shot 25 percent or worse and four that haven't been able to break 20 percent. The year before, Ole Miss held opponents under 30 percent just 10 times all season.

VARIETY IN THE STARTING LINEUP
Ole Miss has used 10 different starting lineups in its first 12 games of the 2019-20 season. In Coach Yo's first season with the Rebels, Ole Miss used 17 different starting lineups through 31 total games played.

STEAL YO BALL
The Rebel defense have been masters of theft, recording 13 steals vs. Louisiana Tech and 15 against Sam Houston State. Those two games mark the first consecutive games of at least 13 steals since notching 13 against Austin Peay on Dec. 20, 2016 and 24 vs. Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 28, 2016.

OPTIONS IN THE SCORING COLUMN
Versatility has been the name of the game on offense, as six different Rebels have led Ole Miss in scoring this season after having just four unique top scorers throughout the entire 2018-19 season. Juniors Deja Cage and Valerie Nesbitt, as well as sophomore Taylor Smith, are the lone Rebels to have repeated, with Nesbitt doing so four times, Cage four times and Smith twice. Other top Rebel scorers include freshman Jayla Alexander vs. UNO (21), junior Dominique Banks at Southern Miss (13) and senior Torri Lewis vs. Louisiana (11).

BENCH COMING THROUGH
The Rebel bench has been active in the scoring department, out-scoring opponents in 11 of 13 games thus far for a season total of 300-177.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

AIR IT OUT, TORRI!
Senior three-point specialist Torri Lewis has picked up right where she left off two years ago, returning for the Rebels as a key weapon from deep. 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 34.6 percent three-point shooter. In her career, 85.8 percent of all of her field goals have come from three-point distance.

Lewis has found her hot hand as of late, shooting a combined 11-of-28 (.393) from three-point distance in the last three games, knocking down at least three treys in each game and hitting four twice against Georgia Southern on Dec. 16 and Alabama State on Dec. 28. Lewis currently ranks seventh in the SEC with 1.8 threes per game.

In her career, Lewis owns 30 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).

BANKS WITH THE REJECTION
Junior Dominique Banks is on pace for a historical season defensively. At her current average of 2.9 blocks per game, she is on pace to break the Ole Miss single-season record in blocks with 84. Banks is currently the NCAA's 12th-best in blocks per game and No. 9 overall in total blocks (38).

1. Promise Taylor - 82 ('17-18, 31 games)
2. Shawn Goff - 67 ('07-08, 29 games)
3. Shawn Goff - 60 ('08-09, 30 games)
4. Susan Byrd - 60 ('93-94, 33 games)
5. Susan Byrd - 59 ('92-93, 28 games)

Furthermore, her eight blocks against Georgia Southern on Dec. 16 stand as the second-most in a game at Ole Miss, as well as the fifth-most in the NCAA this season. Banks has had at least four blocks in three games and at least three blocks in seven contests. She has had multiple blocks in all but two games, and she has yet to go a game this season without recording a single rejection.

DOM ON THE BLOCK
Junior Dominique Banks has been a force to reckon with on the block, averaging 7.0 rebounds and 2.9 blocks to go along with her 7.0 points per game average. Banks recently recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds vs. Alcorn State, the most boards by a Rebel since Bretta Hart hauled in 18 against Western Kentucky on Dec. 2, 2015.

Banks has started four games for the Rebels at the five position, and she currently ranks second in the SEC with her 2.9 blocks per game and 11th at 7.0 rebounds.

NESBITT STRONG IN SECOND HALF
Junior Valerie Nesbitt has risen as one of the top scoring threats for Ole Miss, but her prowess in the second half has been remarkable as well. Nesbitt has scored at least 12 points in seven of her last nine games, averaging 13.4 points per game in that stretch.

Nesbitt has been a force in the second half in her last seven games, though, averaging 8.4 points in the back half in that stretch. This run began after Nesbitt averaged 17.0 points in two games at the Daytona Beach Invitational against Alcorn State and Pitt, with an impressive 13.5 points in the second half of those two games. On the season, Nesbitt is averaging 11.6 points overall and 7.2 points in the second half.

NESBITT STUFFS THE STAT SHEET
Junior Valerie Nesbitt has been a jack of all trades on every side of the ball this season, averaging 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 3.7 assists. Stealing the ball has been her bread and butter, though, currently leading the SEC and ranking 19th in the NCAA at her 3.2 steals per game average. Nesbitt had an all-around superb game against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 23, recording an incredible line of 12 points, eight assists, eight steals and six rebounds. Her eight steals rank as the most by any player in the SEC this season, as well as tied for No. 4 on the Ole Miss single-game list. Additionally, it is the first game in available records at Ole Miss in which a Rebel has recorded at least eight assists and eight steals in the same game. She is also one of just three in the NCAA this season to have recorded such a game alongside Norfolk State's Chanette Hicks (20 points, 14 assists, 11 steals vs. Virginia-Lynchburg, Nov. 14) and Texas Southern's Ciani Cryor (20 points, 9 assists, 8 steals vs. Rice, Dec. 7).

NESBITT ON PACE
Junior Valerie Nesbitt's propensity to steal the ball has put her into an elite class of Rebel defenders. At her average of 3.2 steals per game, Nesbitt is on pace to finish the regular season with 93 steals, which would rank sixth on the Ole Miss single-season list.

1. Carol Ross - 135 ('79-80, 37 games)
2. Armintie Price - 131 ('06-07, 35 games)
3. Armintie Price - 104 ('05-06, 31 games)
4. Glenda Springfield - 98 ('78-79, 39 games)
5. Alisa Scott - 95 ('84-85, 32 games)

OH MY, SHE'S ON FIRE!
Junior Deja Cage has been a dynamic scorer for the Rebels, recording eight different double-digit games through 13 contests this season and standing as the top Ole Miss scorer in four. Cage has also been one of the most consistent three-point shooters in the league, ranking fifth in threes per game (2.1).

Cage lit the net on fire with a career-high 30-point performance on 10-of-18 shooting and 5-of-8 three-point shooting against Louisiana Tech, one of just eight 30-point games in the SEC this season. She is one of just four Rebels in the last five years to have recorded a 30-point game.

MIMI DIRECTING TRAFFIC
Sophomore guard Mimi Reid has returned to her role as the floor general for the Rebels, leading Ole Miss in assists six times this year and recording at least five assists five times. Reid had an incredible day against Alabama State, recording her second career double-double with a career-high 16 points and 10 assists -- the latter of which ties for the most assists in the SEC this season. That game marks the third time this year Reid eclipsed six assists in a game, giving her 13 such games already in her young career.

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.

CLUTCH FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Freshman and Pearl, Mississippi native Jayla Alexander has been money from the free throw line, currently leading Ole Miss in free throws with 31, converting at 88.6 percent.

Alexander has been a key reserve off the bench, scoring 101 of her 119 points off the bench -- including 52 points in a four-game stretch from Nov. 15 to Nov. 26. Alexander went off against New Orleans, more than doubling her previous career high of 10 points with a 21-point outing against the Privateers. She followed that up with an 11-point performance at Southern Miss and a 13-point outing against Sam Houston State.

Alexander, the No. 1 rated recruit out of the state of Mississippi last year, has played at least 18 minutes in each game this season. Helping her against UNO was a 5-of-8 clip from beyond the arc.

COOKING WITH KITCHENS
Sophomore Iyanla Kitchens blossomed in a big way against ULM, recording her first double-double with career highs in points (10) and rebounds (10). Kitchens, who averaged 6.2 minutes per game her freshman season, is currently averaging 4.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game through 13 games and nine starts in 2019-20.

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

Dominique Banks

Deja Cage

Iyanla Kitchens

Torri Lewis

Mimi Reid

Shandricka Sessom

Taylor Smith

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