Rebels Travel to Georgia for Monday Night Showdown

			OLE MISS (9-16, 3-8 SEC) at GEORGIA (14-10, 5-6 SEC) Monday, Feb. 18 • 6 PM • Oxford, Miss. Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Watch • Listen • Live Stats Ole Miss Game Notes • Georgia Game Notes • SEC Game Notes

ATHENS, Ga. – Ole Miss women's basketball looks to maintain momentum from a win over Vanderbilt on the road at Georgia this coming Monday night. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (9-16, 3-8 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 1st Season at Ole Miss (9-16) • 103-79 career record (6th Season)

Georgia Lady Bulldogs (14-10, 5-6 SEC)
Head Coach: Joni Taylor • 4th Season at Georgia (77-42) • 77-42 career record (4th season)

ON THE AIR

Television/Online: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Brenda VanLengen
Color: Andraya Carter

OLE MISS RADIO

Radio: 105.1 FM
Audio: TuneIn / RebelVision
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
Color: Lindsay Roy

SERIES HISTORY
At Oxford: Georgia leads 10-9
At Athens: Georgia leads 18-1
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

Series History
Georgia leads, 34-13

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. 19, 2018
• L, 66-52, in Oxford

Last Time in Athens
Feb. 4, 2018
• L, 69-45

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 with a 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

Current Record: 14-10, 5-6 SEC
• RPI: 108
• Holds the SEC's best shooting defense, allowing just 35.9 percent to opponents
• Ranks third in the NCAA and leads the conference in blocks at 6.3 per game
• Also ranks in the SEC top-three in assists (2nd, 15.9/game) and shooting (3rd, .433)
• Leads in SEC-only assists at 14.7 per game, blocks at 5.4 per game
• Three averaging double-digits
• Four averaging 5.0 rebounds
• Two with 40 blocks or more
• Outscoring opponents by 100 in the 3rd Quarter (446-346)
• Holds a ranked win over No. 13 Tennessee (66-62), single-digit ranked losses to No. 7 Maryland (58-51) and No. 6 Mississippi State (80-71)

Players to Watch

#4 Caliya Robinson
• 13.7 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 2.3 BPG, 1.3 SPG
• .465 FG, .712 FT
• 2nd SEC, 22nd NCAA in blocks per game
• Ranks fifth SEC in rebounds, eighth in field goal percentage
• Leads in league play with 2.6 blocks per game
• One of 15 nationally on Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Midseason Watch List
• Preseason All-SEC, Wooden Award Watch List, Katrina McClain Award Watch List (top power forward), Naismith Award Watch List, ESPNW Top-25

#2 Gabby Connally
• 12.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.6 SPG
• .426 FG, .388 3PT, .920 FT, 45 3PM
• Has made 42.9 percent of all Georgia threes
• Has only missed four free throws all season
• Ranks 3rd in the SEC in minutes (34.9/game)
• Playing 37.5 minutes a game in SEC play (2nd SEC)

#00 Taja Cole
• 11.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 6.6 APG, 1.7 SPG
• .416 FG
• Leads SEC, 6th NCAA in assists per game
• 4th SEC in assist/turnover ratio (2.3), 5th in minutes (34.3/game)
• Leads with 6.4 assists per game in SEC play

TEAM NOTES

LAST TIME OUT (vs. Vanderbilt)
In a back-and-forth battle that featured nine lead changes and eight ties, Ole Miss women's basketball emerged victorious 65-60 over Vanderbilt at The Pavilion on Feb. 14.

"We needed it in the worst way," said Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "Right now, we are running our own individual race. I just kept telling the ladies that we need to get a win. Vanderbilt's record doesn't really show how they have been playing. They were up until the last three minutes vs. South Carolina, up by 20 on Auburn, and lost to Georgia at the last second. So, this is a quality win for us."

Senior leadership proved to be instrumental for the Rebels. Crystal Allen broke out of her slump and led the team with 23 points, including the final go-ahead three-pointer with 1:01 remaining. From there, the Rebel defense locked down and held Vanderbilt scoreless for the remainder of the game.

"We thought we had the old Crystal back after this week of practice," McPhee-McCuin said. "She just had her regular bounce. Everybody played and everybody contributed and that is how we want to be."

La'Karis Salter (17 points, six rebounds) was also an integral part of the win. She scored 15 points in the second half, which included shooting 3-of-3 from the three-point line and a pair of game-clinching free throws with 0:11 remaining to put the Rebels up by two possessions.

"La'Karis loves the big stage," McPhee-McCuin said. "She made some big shots tonight at the right time."

Shandricka Sessom (18 points, five rebounds) helped carry the Rebel offense in the first half. The senior scored 14 points in the first half and was 4-of-6 from beyond-the-arc. This helped the Rebels jump out to a 22-13 first quarter lead and a 32-28 lead at the half. In SEC play, Sessom is shooting 38.1 percent from beyond the arc and has made 24 treys.

Freshman Mimi Reid tallied a team-high nine assists, which is the most that she has recorded in conference play.

THREE SEC WINS TO START COACH YO ERA
Ole Miss first year head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin inherited a near brand-new roster in her first campaign with the Rebels, but that hasn't stopped Ole Miss from winning three conference games for just the fourth time in the last nine seasons. In those wins, the Rebels have shot 42.3 percent overall and 36.5 percent from three while holding opponents to just 58.3 points per game and 31.7 percent from beyond the arc. In those wins, the senior trio of Crystal Allen (65), La'Karis Salter (47) and Shandricka Sessom (43) are averaging a combined 51.7 PPG by themselves.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
The Rebel senior trio of Crystal Allen, La'Karis Salter and Shandricka Sessom have been the cornerstones of the Ole Miss offense in SEC play. At least two of them have scored in double-digits in 10 of 11 conference games thus far, averaging a combined 38.5 PPG while shooting 88 percent from the free throw line and hitting 60 of the 65 Rebel three-pointers in SEC play (92.3 percent). All three have scored in double-digits twice in SEC play this year in wins over Florida and Vanderbilt. In those wins, the trio have accounted for 77.3 percent of all Rebel scoring with 109 of 141 total points.

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN, YES!
In contrast to the Ole Miss three-point defense, the Rebels have also found success offensively from beyond the arc, currently owning the SEC's fourth-best three-point percentage at 33.3 percent. The Rebels have shot 40 percent or better from distance in three of their last six games and four of their last seven overall. Included in that stretch was an 8-of-20 performance against No. 20 Texas A&M on Feb. 3, which entered with the SEC's top three-point defense.

Ole Miss opened the season without breaking 33 percent from beyond the arc in each of its first six games, but then went on to shoot 33 percent or better in seven of the final eight games in non-conference. That included a stretch of four straight at 47 percent or above and three in a row atop the 50 percent plateau. During that four-game stretch from Nov. 24 (vs. St. John's) to Dec. 8 (vs. Savannah State), the Rebels shot 23-of-45 (51.1 percent). In that span, Ole Miss seniors Crystal Allen (59.1, 13-of-22) and Shandricka Sessom (52.9, 9-of-17) combined for 95.7 of all three-pointers made.

Ole Miss closed non-conference season with a season-high 14 threes vs. North Florida, which ties for the fifth-most in a single-game in school history. Helping greatly in that effort was nine threes alone from Allen, the second-most by a Rebel in school history. Overall this season, Ole Miss is shooting 32.8 percent from three (134-of-408), the fifth-best clip in the SEC.

VARIETY IN THE STARTING LINEUP
Ole Miss has utilized eight different starting lineups in SEC play this season, as well as 15 total on the season. The Rebels opened the conference season with four brand-new starting lineups vs. Mizzou, Arkansas, LSU and Kentucky. All four lineups included at least two freshmen, with the game vs. Arkansas containing four: Gabby Crawford, Mahogany Matthews, Mimi Reid and Taylor Smith. All 10 Rebels on the active roster have started this year.

The longest running lineup in SEC play has been the starting five of Mimi Reid (point guard), senior Crystal Allen (guard), Taylor Smith (guard), Shandricka Sessom (guard) and La'Karis Salter (forward), which helped Ole Miss to back-to-back SEC wins for the first time in two years at No. 16 Kentucky and Florida.

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 429-399. Ole Miss has won or tied the fourth quarter in 17 games this season, and is averaging 17.1 points in the final frame.

SHARING IS CARING
Controlling the game with an efficient offense has been crucial for the Rebels this season, as Ole Miss has gone 6-4 in games where it tallies more assists than its opponent but 3-12 on the opposite end of the spectrum. Ole Miss recorded an SEC season-high 20 assists in the win vs. Florida on Jan. 20 on 27 made field goals -- the fifth game with 20 or more assists this season. The Rebels also had a stellar non-conference season sharing the ball. In 14 non-conference games, Ole Miss had at least 15 assists in seven games, with at least 20 in four contests. By contrast, the Rebels only eclipsed the 20-assist mark three times throughout the entire 2017-18 season.

The Rebels had impressive success sharing the ball over a three-game stretch of at least 18 assists from Dec. 8-15, the first three-game streak for Ole Miss since Dec. 10-17, 2016. In back-to-back outings vs. Savannah State (21) and Louisiana (24), Ole Miss recorded the first consecutive contests with at least 20 assists since doing so in two straight on Dec. 21, 2011 (22, vs. Cleveland State) and Dec. 29, 2011 (24, vs. Southeastern Louisiana). The Rebels have not dished out 20 or more assists in three consecutive games since a three-game stretch from Nov. 13-20, 2009, with three games vs. Southeastern Louisiana (24; Nov. 13), Sam Houston State (27; Nov. 17) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (26; Nov. 20). Additionally, the +11 assist/turnover ratio vs. Louisiana (24 assists, 13 turnovers) on Dec. 12 was the best for Ole Miss since a +12 edge in a win over No. 25 Oregon on Dec. 14, 2016 (19 assists, seven turnovers).

VS. RANKED COMPETITION IN 2019
Ole Miss has played four ranked opponents in its last eight games, as well as in three of its last five outings. Ole Miss lost to No. 2 UConn (90-50) in the U.S. Virgin Islands at the Paradise Jam before winning at No. 16 Kentucky on Jan. 13 -- the first win on the road vs. a ranked school since 2011 and the first overall in Lexington since 2007. Since, the Rebels have fallen at No. 6 Mississippi State (80-49), at home vs. No. 20 Texas A&M (72-60) -- in which Ole Miss lead at halftime -- and at No. 12 South Carolina (76-42).

DAUNTING SCHEDULE AHEAD
Ole Miss had a fairly strong non-conference schedule with the likes of current RPI top-100 teams like UConn (No. 6), Purdue (No. 66), TCU (No. 37) and Troy (No. 95), but the SEC slate has been and will prove to be as difficult as ever, with nine conference schools all within the top-100 and five within the top-25. Ole Miss currently holds the No. 71 toughest schedule overall and the No. 35 toughest future schedule according to the NCAA's strength of schedule index.

MAKING THEM COUNT
Ole Miss has been on fire from the charity stripe as of late, currently ranking as the SEC's second-best free throw shooting team in conference play at 76.6 percent. Ole Miss hit double-digit free throws in five straight games from Jan. 6 to Jan. 24, going 62-of-76 (.816) in that stretch. Ole Miss has only shot worse than 70 percent from the foul line twice in conference action after doing so seven times in the non-conference season. From Jan. 10 to Jan. 31, senior Crystal Allen single-handedly put up a line of 45-of-46 herself. On the year, Ole Miss is shooting 71.3 percent overall -- the seventh-best average in the SEC. The Rebels average 9.7 makes on 13.6 trips to the free throw line on the season.

EARLY SUCCESS = WINS
When the Rebel offense has gotten off to a strong start, it has meant good things for Ole Miss by game's end. The Rebels are 8-2 when holding a lead at halftime, sitting ahead by an average of 8.7 points each time.

OFF THE GLASS
Currently, Ole Miss is 6-2 in games when out-rebounding opponents, but just 3-13 when getting beat on the glass. The Rebels average 36.0 rebounds per game -- 41.0 in wins, 33.2 in losses.

OFF THE LINE
Ole Miss has proved difficult to damage from distance lately, holding opponents to five or fewer three-pointers in five of its last six games, including four straight from Jan. 24 to Feb. 3. In that four-game stretch, Rebel opponents shot just 13-of-54 (.241) from beyond the arc. Included in that is an Ole Miss opponent season-low 1-of-9 (.111) by No. 20 Texas A&M on Feb. 3. On the season, Ole Miss is holding opponents to just 30 percent from three, the fifth-best three-point defense in the SEC. Ole Miss has held 14 opponents to 30 percent or less from three, including nine that shot 25 percent or worse. Last season, Ole Miss held opponents under 30 percent just 10 times all season.

TURNING A CORNER
Ole Miss ripped off two impressive wins after starting off SEC play 0-3, defeating No. 16 Kentucky (55-49) on Jan. 13 before prevailing against Florida (76-66) on Jan. 20. The win against the Gators marked the first consecutive SEC wins for Ole Miss since 2016-17 when the Rebels defeated Georgia at home on Jan. 29, 2017 (69-62) and Florida in Gainesville on Feb. 6 (85-75).

The win in Lexington was a historic one, as the Rebels came away with the first win at UK since 2007. Ole Miss won that game 67-65 in overtime, with current Ole Miss assistant coach and Rebel All-American Armintie Price Herrington recording a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards. The win this year was also the first on the road against a ranked opponent since Jan. 23, 2011 at No. 23 Arkansas (69-65) and the first against Kentucky in general since the 2015-16 season when the Rebels took down the 9th-ranked Wildcats in Oxford, 73-65. These back-to-back wins mark just the fifth time Ole Miss has won consecutive SEC games since 2009-10. Ole Miss has not won three SEC games in a row since the 2014-15 season. Ole Miss did so twice that year: once from Feb. 19 at Auburn (51-46), Feb. 23 vs. Kentucky (67-59) to Feb. 26 vs. LSU (58-57); and once earlier from Jan. 8 at Florida (64-57), Jan. 11 vs. Alabama (77-63) and Jan. 15 vs. Georgia (55-52).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

BIG TICKET = BIG BUCKETS
Senior La'Karis Salter has been on fire in conference play, improving her scoring average from 7.3 PPG in non-conference play to 10.3 in SEC season, while also registering a massive increase in three-point conversions from 13 percent to 34.2. In the last 10 games alone, Salter is averaging 11.1 PPG (after scoring six or fewer in nine of her previous 10) and in the three Rebel wins in SEC play, Salter is putting up 15.7 per game. At No. 16 Kentucky, Salter recorded her second career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards en route to the big ranked road win for the Rebels. Salter has followed that up with a career-high 18 points in a win vs. Florida and 17 toward victory against Vanderbilt.

MIMI DIRECTING TRAFFIC
Redshirt freshman point guard Mimi Reid has been a true general on the floor for the Rebels in her first season of action, spearheading what has become an efficient Rebel offensive attack. After a nine-assist game vs. Vanderbilt on Feb. 14, Reid stands alone as the only freshman to have recorded nine or more assists in SEC play. She is also the only player in the SEC this season with separate games of 11+ assists (vs. Louisiana, career-high). and 11+ rebounds (vs. Western Michigan, career-high).

Reid leads all SEC freshmen and ranks third among all freshmen nationally with 111 assists, putting her average of 4.8 per game at No. 4 in the SEC. In the two games that she missed vs. TCU (L, 55-50) and Jacksonville State (L, 60-49) due to a concussion, Ole Miss tallied just 19 total assists. In two triumphant wins over Savannah State and Louisiana upon her return, Reid herself accumulated 19 assists.

GETTING IN A GROOVE
Senior Shandricka Sessom was struggling from beyond the arc for a bit to start SEC play, going 2-for-14 in her first four conference games this season. Sessom broke out of that in a big way vs. Florida, draining three consecutive three-pointers in 38 seconds in the first quarter to give the Rebels a big momentum boost right off the bat. Since the Florida game, Sessom has been on fire, going 22-of-45 from beyond the arc and scoring in double-digits in six of her seven games since. Sessom has 49 threes this season, giving her and fellow senior Crystal Allen (65) a combined total of 114 of 144 total Ole Miss treys this year (79.2 percent).

MOVING UP THE ALL-TIME LIST
Senior Shandricka Sessom is continuing to cement herself as one of the best three-point shooters in Ole Miss history. At 177 career treys, Sessom ranks fourth on the all-time list.

OLE MISS CAREER THREE-POINTERS, ALL-TIME
1. Becky Myatt (1998-01) – 232
2. Bianca Thomas (2006-10) – 226
3. Regan Seybert (1993-97) – 194
4. Shandricka Sessom (2014-) – 177
5. Gracie Frizzell (2011-15) – 164
6. Madinah Muhammad (2015-18) - 154

ALLEN'S ALL-SEC RESUME
Ole Miss redshirt senior Crystal Allen has been the center of attention for opposing defenses all season long, and it proves in the stat sheet. After two seasons at Seattle and two at UT-Arlington, Allen's lone season in the SEC has proven to be a superb one:

• Has started 21 of 25 games
• Ole Miss leading scorer in 21 of 25 games
• 4th SEC in total points (437)
• 2nd SEC in threes made (65)
• 3rd in SEC with 17.5 PPG
• Ranks 5th with 16.5 PPG in SEC play
• Leads the SEC in free throw shooting at 85.5 percent
• Also ranks in SEC overall top-10 in: threes per game (2nd, 2.6), minutes per game (6th, 34.1) and three-point shooting (8th, .328).
• 3rd in SEC-only free throw percentage (.900)
• Held the NCAA's longest active free throw streak at one point. Hit 47 consecutive free throws from Jan. 10 until Feb. 3, going 47-of-50 in that stretch (.940)
• Did not miss multiple free throws in a game from Dec. 8 until Feb. 3, going 63-of-69 (.913) in between
• Ranks in the NCAA top-100 in 10 categories
• Nine 20-point games
• Double-digits in 22 of 25 games played
• Career-high 34 points vs. North Florida, which at the time was the most by anyone in the SEC
• 28 points at No. 16 Kentucky, 26 in the second half for the first Ole Miss win over a ranked team on the road since 2011 (first at UK since 2007)
• In a blistering three-game stretch from Dec. 19 to Jan. 3, averaged 26.3 PPG and sank 15 threes in three consecutive 20-point outings.
• On pace for the 2nd-most threes in a season in Ole Miss history (78)
• Averaging 21.7 PPG in wins, 18.0 PPG on the road

YOU GO, WE GO
In Rebel wins, senior Crystal Allen is averaging 21.7 PPG (31.4 percent of all Rebel scoring) while shooting 43.9 percent overall, 41.9 percent from three (31-of-74) and 87.3 percent from the free throw line.

FREE THROW STREAK ENDS
No one in the SEC was hotter from the free throw line in the last month than senior Crystal Allen, who hit 47 consecutive free throws from Jan. 10 to Feb. 3, snapping the streak vs. No. 20 Texas A&M on Feb. 3 as the NCAA active leader. In that stretch, Allen was 47-of-50 (.940) from the charity stripe, making at least eight free throws in four of seven contests. Before missing three against the Aggies, Allen had not missed multiple free throws since Dec. 8 vs. Savannah State, going 63-of-69 (.913) in between.

WELCOME TO THE BIG TIME, KID
True freshman guard Taylor Smith averaged just 15.8 minutes and 1.9 points per game in non-conference play, but the Marietta, Georgia, native has become a fixture for the Rebels in SEC play. Smith was the only Rebel to have started the first nine SEC games, and she has started 10 of 11 conference games overall. In conference play she is averaging 24.0 minutes per game while also chipping in 3.0 points.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR DRIQUE
Senior Shandricka Sessom recorded her eighth career double-double vs. LSU on Jan. 10, notching 11 points and 10 rebounds in the effort. It was the first double-double for Sessom since Nov. 21, 2017, when she put up 15 points and 10 rebounds vs. Troy before a season-ending injury later that month.

BACK IN THE SADDLE
After a slow start to the season following her return from a season-ending knee injury last year, senior Shandricka Sessom has resumed her role as a consistent offensive outlet for the Rebels. Sessom only scored 5.5 points per game in her first six games played, but has gone on to score 12.6 per game since. Sessom has recorded double-digits in 14 games played this season, including six of her last seven and seven of her last nine. Sessom is averaging 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, and in SEC play she averages 11.6 PPG and 5.6 rebounds.

SESSOM JOINS RARE COMPANY
Redshirt senior Shandricka Sessom has made her way up the all-time scoring list at Ole Miss, but Sessom has recently moved into even more rare company. At 1,391 points and 598 rebounds in her storied career, Sessom is one of just 13 Rebels to ever eclipse 1,300 points and 500 boards. When she ends up passing 1,400 points and 600 rebounds, she will be one of just 10 Rebels to ever do so.

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.

CLASS OF THE SEC
Senior guards Shandricka Sessom and Crystal Allen both have 1,000 career points scored, making Ole Miss one of just three SEC schools with two active players above the 1,000 mark. Sessom ranks sixth among active SEC scorers with 1,391 points, while Allen's 1,265 puts her at 10th in the league.

ALLEN ON PACE FROM THREE
Crystal Allen has been money from three for the Rebels this year, draining 65 of the 144 Ole Miss treys this year (45.1 percent). At her pace of 2.6 treys per game, Allen is on pace to sink 78 three-pointers this season -- which would be the second-best three-point shooting season in Ole Miss history behind Bianca Thomas' 100 threes from 2009-10.

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

Mahogany Matthews

Madinah Muhammad

Mimi Reid

La'Karis Salter

Shandricka Sessom

Taylor Smith

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