Rebels Renew Rivalry at Home vs. No. 6 Mississippi State

			OLE MISS (9-17, 3-9 SEC) vs. #6 MISSISSIPPI STATE (23-2, 11-1 SEC) Thursday, Feb. 21 • 7 PM • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) 1,000 Ole Miss Replica Jerseys • Pregame Party in Pavilion Club
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OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss women's basketball returns home to renew its rivalry with No. 6 Mississippi State this Thursday. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT inside The Pavilion at Ole Miss and on SECN+.

PROMOTIONS
• First 1,000 fans receive a replica Ole Miss basketball jersey
• Pregame Party: Free food for those wearing Ole Miss gear; begins at 6 p.m. inside The Pavilion Club

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (9-17, 3-9 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 1st Season at Ole Miss (9-17) • 103-80 career record (6th Season)

No. 6 Mississippi State Bulldogs (23-2, 11-1 SEC)
Head Coach: Vic Schaefer • 7th Season at MSU (184-55) • 264-165 career record (14th 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 / RebelVision
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty

SERIES AT A GLANCE
At Oxford: Ole Miss leads 29-13
At Starkville: Ole Miss leads 25-19
At Neutral Sites: Ole Miss leads 9-1
Longest UM Streak: 33 (1982-97)
Longest MSU Streak: 9 (2014-Present)
Biggest UM Win: 43 (2/27/85 - at Oxford)
Biggest MSU Win: 31 (1/11/18 - at Starkville)
Most UM Points: 100 (3/4/94 - at Chattanooga)
Most MSU Points: 87 (1/27/02 - at Oxford)
Last 10 Meetings: MSU leads 10-0

SERIES NOTES

Series History
Ole Miss leads, 63-33

Current Streak
Mississippi State, 10

First Meeting
Jan. 23, 1975
• W, 90-76, in Oxford
• First of 17 Rebel wins to begin the series

Last Meeting
Jan. 27, 2019
• L, 80-49, in Starkville

Last Time in Oxford
Jan. 28, 2018
• L, 69-49

Last Win
Jan. 23, 2014
• W, 87-85, in Oxford

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE

Current Record: 23-2, 11-1 SEC
• AP rank: No. 6
• Coaches Poll rank: No. 6
• RPI: 7
• NCAA finalists in 2017 and 2018
• 2018 SEC Regular Season Champions
• Leads the NCAA in scoring margin (+31.7)
• Also ranks in the NCAA top-25 in: scoring offense (2nd, 87.6 PPG), rebounding margin (2nd, +14.8), offensive rebounds per game (2nd, 18.0), field goal percentage (6th, .493), rebounds per game (7th, 44.6), blocks per game (7th, 5.9), total blocks (8th, 147), turnover margin (9th, +6.76), total rebounds (9th, 1,115), free throws made (10th, 402), three-point percentage (12th, .378), free throw attempts (14th, 548), assist/turnover ratio (19th, 1.28), scoring defense (20th, 55.9 PPG) and assists per game (20th, 17.0)
• Losses have come at No. 7 Oregon (82-74) on Dec. 19 and vs. Missouri (75-67) in Starkville on Feb. 14
• Three active players averaging double-figures
• Without starting forward Chloe Bibby for the remainder of the season (11.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, .481 FG, .450 3PT, .852 FT)

Players to Watch

#15 Teaira McCowan
•16.8 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 2.6 BPG
• .641 FG, .750 FT
• SEC Preseason Player of the Year
• On the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Wade Trophy and Lisa Leslie Award Watch lists
• 2018 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year
• 2018 All-American
• Leads the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game (6.0), second in total rebounds per game (13.6)
• 3rd NCAA with 21 double-doubles, 5th in FG percentage (.641) and 12th in blocks (64).

#5 Anriel Howard
• 15.9 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.2 SPG
• .523 FG, .736 FT
• Preseason All-SEC
• Named to Wooden Award, Naismith Triphy and Katrina McClain Award Watch Lists
• 4th SEC in FG percentage, 6th in rebounding, 10th in scoring

#10 Jazzmun Holmes
• 7.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 5.3 APG, 2.0 SPG
• Leads NCAA in assist/turnover ratio (4.4)

TEAM NOTES

LAST TIME OUT (at Georgia)
Ole Miss women's basketball fought out of the gate and received another high-octane performance from senior Crystal Allen, but an efficient offense and tight defense helped Georgia pull away for a 78-56 win at Stegeman Coliseum on Feb. 18.

The Rebels drew 10-10 by the first media timeout of the game, hitting their first four shots from the field. Georgia responded with a 14-3 run to close the first quarter, though, a gap Ole Miss would fail to close the remainder of the game. Georgia had 23 assists on 31 made field goals and forced 17 Rebel turnovers that the Bulldogs turned into 20 points.

"The first five minutes we were doing fine, but we hit a little adversity and I thought for fifteen minutes, the last five minutes of the first quarter and all 10 minutes of the second quarter, we just got manhandled," said Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "That was disappointing for us. On the bright side, in the third and fourth, we fought. I played my young kids. We were able to get some kind of activity, but we have got to figure out a way to keep it going from beginning to end."

Crystal Allen ended up with 21 points, her 10th game with 20 points or more this season. Allen scored 16 of her 21 in the fourth quarter alone, as well as 19 just in the second half. Allen has scored in double digits in all but three games this season.

All five Rebel freshmen played at least 14 minutes, with solid performances coming from Taylor Smith (seven points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal), Mimi Reid (six points, two rebounds, two assists) and Gabby Crawford (four points, six rebounds).

"At one point, I had four freshmen on the floor," McPhee-McCuin said. "This was their first time being thrown in the fire and I was pretty proud of them and how they competed for the time that they played. We are going to try and build off of that."

Georgia received a strong outing from Preseason All-SEC member Caliya Robinson, who scored 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field. In her last three games vs. Ole Miss, Robinson is averaging 23.3 PPG and is shooting 67.4 percent from the field. Georgia also received important games from Maya Caldwell (15 points, five rebounds) and Taja Cole (four points, four rebounds, 10 assists, three steals).

"I just want to see fight," McPhee-McCuin said. "I want the last picture when people think about Ole Miss Basketball is competitiveness, toughness and fight. There has not been one coach that we have competed against that has not talked to me before and after the game about how hard my kids play."

STORIED RIVALRY
Ole Miss and Mississippi State will resume their intense rivalry, meeting for the 97th time this coming Thursday.

The Rebels hold a 63-33 edge in the all-time series, winning 50 of the first 51 matchups from 1975-97. Ole Miss won 33 in a row from Jan. 23, 1982 until Feb. 19, 1997, but the tide has turned maroon since. The Bulldogs have taken 32 of the last 45 contests, including the last 10 in a row.

Ole Miss holds a 29-13 lead at home and a 25-19 lead in Starkville, as well as a 9-1 lead in neutral site contests.

OLE MISS VS. AP TOP-10
In its storied history, Ole Miss owns 29 wins against AP top-10 schools, 17 of which have been against SEC schools and 14 of which have come during the SEC regular season. Of those 29 wins, 14 have come while the Rebels have not been ranked themselves, which includes the last six wins vs. AP Top-10 teams. The most recent victory came at home over No. 9 Kentucky on Jan. 21, 2016 (73-65).

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 12 conference games thus far, averaging a combined 37.8 PPG while shooting 87.2 percent from the free throw line and hitting 65 of the 70 Rebel three-pointers in SEC play (92.9 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.

VS. RANKED COMPETITION IN 2019
Ole Miss will face its sixth ranked opponent of the 2018-19 season this Thursday when No. 5 Mississippi State comes to town. Following Thursday, the Rebels will have played five ranked opponents in their last nine games, as well of four of the previous six 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. 61) and TCU (No. 34), 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-30. Ole Miss currently holds the No. 75 toughest schedule overall and the No. 42 toughest future schedule according to the NCAA's strength of schedule index.

OFF THE LINE
Ole Miss has proved difficult to damage from distance lately, holding opponents to five or fewer three-pointers in six of its last seven 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 30.3 percent from three, the seventh-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.

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 fifth-best three-point percentage at 33.3 percent. The Rebels have shot 40 percent or better from distance in four of their last eight games. 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.

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 448-417. Ole Miss has won or tied the fourth quarter in 18 games this season, and is averaging 17.2 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 3-13 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).

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 76.2 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 71.2 percent overall -- the seventh-best average in the SEC. The Rebels average 9.6 makes on 13.5 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 3-14 when getting beat on the glass. The Rebels average 35.9 rebounds per game -- 41.0 in wins, 33.2 in losses.

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 9.8 in SEC season, while also registering a massive increase in three-point conversions from 13 percent to 32.5. In the last 11 games alone, Salter is averaging 10.5 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.

ALLEN'S ALL-SEC RESUME
Ole Miss redshirt senior Crystal Allen has been the center of attention for opposing defenses, 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 26 games
• Ole Miss leading scorer in 22 of 26 games
• 4th SEC in total points (458)
• 3rd in SEC with 17.6 PPG
• Ranks 4th with 16.9 PPG in SEC play
• Leads SEC in threes made (68)
• Leads the SEC in free throw shooting at 85 percent
• Also ranks in SEC overall top-10 in: threes per game (2nd, 2.6), minutes per game (7th, 33.7) and three-point shooting (7th, .332).
• 3rd in SEC-only free throw percentage (.890)
• 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)
• Ranks in the NCAA top-100 in 10 categories
• 10 games with 20+ points
• Double-digits in 23 of 26 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, 18.4 PPG on the road

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 fifth among all freshmen nationally with 113 assists, putting her average of 4.7 per game at No. 5 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 24-of-50 from beyond the arc and scoring in double-digits in six of her eight games since. Sessom has 51 threes this season, giving her and fellow senior Crystal Allen (68) a combined total of 119 of 149 total Ole Miss treys this year (79.9 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 179 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-) – 179
5. Gracie Frizzell (2011-15) – 164
6. Madinah Muhammad (2015-18) - 154

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 11 of 12 conference games overall. In conference play she is averaging 23.9 minutes per game while also chipping in 3.3 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

Mahogany Matthews

Madinah Muhammad

Mimi Reid

La'Karis Salter

Shandricka Sessom

Taylor Smith

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