Rebels Set for Florida in First Round of SEC Tournament

			OLE MISS (9-21, 3-13 SEC) vs. FLORIDA (7-22, 3-13 SEC) Wednesday, March 6 • 10 AM • Greenville, S.C. 2019 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament • First Round Bon Secours Wellness Arena (15,951)
Watch • Listen • Live Stats • Bracket • Tournament Info Ole Miss Game Notes • Florida Game Notes • SEC Game Notes

GREENVILLE, S.C. – It's tournament time for the Ole Miss women's basketball team, which will face off against the Florida Gators in the first round of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday morning. Tipoff is set for 10 a.m. CT on SEC Network.

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (9-21, 3-13 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 1st Season at Ole Miss (9-21) • 103-84 career record (6th Season)

Florida Gators (7-22, 3-13 SEC)
Head Coach: Cam Newbauer • 2nd Season at Florida (18-41) • 97-91 career record (6th season)

ON THE AIR

Television/Online: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Courtney Lyle
Color: Tamika Catchings
Sideline: Steffi Sorensen
Studio: Alyssa Lang, Nell Fortner, Andy Landers, A'ja Wilson

OLE MISS RADIO

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

SERIES AT A GLANCE
At Oxford: Florida leads 12-7
At Gainesville: Tied 9-9
At Neutral Sites: Ole Miss leads 3-0
Longest UM Streak: 8 (1979-1992)
Longest UF Streak: 11 (1993-2002)
Biggest UM Win: 24 (1/16/88 - at Gainesville)
Biggest UF Win: 29 (2/17/00; 2/5/12)
Most UM Points: 101 (3/8/78 - at Starkville)
Most UF Points: 86 (2/7/99 - at Oxford)
Last 10 Meetings: UM leads 6-4

SERIES NOTES

Series History
Florida leads, 21-19

Current Streak
Ole Miss, 2

vs. Florida in the SEC Tournament
Ole Miss leads, 1-0
• 2018, First Round: W, 48-43, in Nashville

First Meeting
March 8, 1979
• W, 101-78, in Auburn, Ala.
• First Round of AIAW Region III Tournament
• One of five games in Ole Miss history in which the Rebels scored 100 points or more against a current or future SEC school
• Third-most points scored by Ole Miss over a current or future SEC school, second-most in regulation (scored 107 vs. Auburn on Dec. 8, 1978)

First SEC Meeting
Feb. 12, 1986
• W, 61-55, in Gainesville

Last Meeting
Jan. 20, 2019
• W, 76-66, in Oxford
• Shandricka Sessom: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5-8 3PT
• La'Karis Salter: career-high 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
• Crystal Allen: 14 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 9-9 FT

SCOUTING FLORIDA

Current Record: 7-22, 3-13 SEC
• Ranks 18th in three-pointers attempted (745), 43rd in threes made (225)
• Ranks 2nd in the SEC in threes made (7.8)
• Shooting .376 as a team; allowing .446 to opponents
•Two averaging double-digits
• Five with 20+ three-pointers

Players to Watch

#3 Funda Nakkasoglu
• 16.7 PPG, 1.8 RPG, .465 FG, .426 3PT, 80 3PM, .859 FT
• Leads SEC in threes made (80)
• Second-best active career scorer in the SEC with 2,016 points scored
• 21st NCAA, 2nd SEC in three-point percentage (.426)
• 2nd SEC in minutes (35.0/game)
• 6th SEC in scoring, 8th in FG percentage

#00 Delicia Washington
• 10.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG
• 9th SEC in rebounding

TEAM NOTES

LAST TIME OUT (vs. Tennessee)
Crystal Allen scored 30 points, but the Ole Miss women's basketball team wrapped up its regular season with an 81-56 loss to Tennessee at the Pavilion on March 3.

"Obviously, I am disappointed with our start," said Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "On a high note, I am happy that we won the fourth quarter. Tennessee, in my opinion, is the most talented team in the SEC. I know their record doesn't show it, but that has nothing to do with who they are. They are a team full of All-Americans that play at a high level, as you can see. We fought, and hopefully we can put that kind of fight into our game vs. Florida on Wednesday."

Ole Miss and the Lady Vols both came out of the gates hard, trading runs in the first quarter before Tennessee turned on the jets and ended the frame with a 23-13 lead. The Lady Vols, who were coming off their first loss ever to Vanderbilt at home on Feb. 28, used a highly efficient offense and a swarming defense to clip off what was at one point a 33-6 run in the first half to separate. Tennessee (18-11, 7-9 SEC) ended the day shooting 51.8 percent overall with 25 assists on 29 made field goals, while also turning 15 Rebel turnovers into 22 points and 14 points on the fastbreak.

The Rebels didn't go quietly, though, as Ole Miss won the fourth quarter against the Lady Vol starters, 23-17. Leading the charge yet again was senior Crystal Allen in her final game in The Pavilion. Allen, the SEC's third-leading scorer, ended with an SEC season-high 30 points (20 coming in the second half) on 10-of-22 shooting (3-of-7 from three, 7-of-9 from the free throw line), her second career 30-point game – both coming during her one season as a Rebel. Her 549 points scored this year (18.3 PPG) makes her the first Rebel to score 500 points in a season since Bianca Thomas scored 670 in 2009-10.

Additionally, Gabby Crawford had the best game of her young career against the Lady Vols. The freshman set career-highs in both points (16) and rebounds (9). Coming into the game, she had never reached double-digit scoring.

"We definitely can build on that (Gabby's performance) for the future," McPhee-McCuin said. "Our freshmen have been playing a lot of minutes. I was proud of Crystal because she stayed in it and didn't break. I thought that she played her heart out. I felt like Gabby and the other young pups wanted to give her their all."

Prior to tipoff, Ole Miss honored the four Rebel seniors playing in their last home game in an Ole Miss uniform: Allen, Cecilia Muhate, La'Karis Salter and Shandricka Sessom. Allen and Salter are fifth-year graduate transfers, but Muhate and Sessom have been staples of the Rebel women's basketball team their entire careers. All four were members of the starting lineup today and were instrumental pieces for the Rebels this season.

"The reason why I stand up and coach whether we're down 30 or up three is because of my loyalty to them," McPhee-McCuin said. "It's the only way I can show gratitude and appreciation to them for giving me a chance. I had three players when I came. We were able to form a team, and I couldn't do it without them. That's why I give them everything that I have so that they could have a good experience. I know we didn't win a lot of games, but I'm confident that they feel like they had a positive experience here for this short time."

LAST TIME OUT VS. FLORIDA (Jan. 20)
A complete, 40-minute team effort helped lead the Ole Miss women's basketball team to a 76-66 victory over Florida at The Pavilion on Jan. 20, marking the first time in two years that the Rebels have won consecutive SEC games.

The Rebels (8-11, 2-3 SEC) were riding high after an upset win at No. 16 Kentucky on Jan. 13, but Ole Miss showed no let down today against the Gators (5-13, 1-4 SEC). The Rebel offense was efficient today, shooting an SEC season-high 50.9 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. Seven different Rebels recorded an assist, leading to 20 on 27 made field goals, and Ole Miss turned 16 Gator turnovers into 28 points.

"What the win at Kentucky did was to allow us to coach harder, and the young ladies to be a little bit more open," said Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "They're locked in. They believe, they trust, and that takes a long time to happen, and it's really tough to convince someone to trust when you're not winning."

That mentality was evident right off the bat at The Pavilion today. Freshman point guard Mimi Reid (seven points, two rebounds, two assists) hit a three on the first possession of the game at the 9:40 mark, leading to a dynamite opening from senior Shandricka Sessom (19 points, six rebounds, 5-of-8 3PT). The Byhalia, Mississippi native had gone 2-of-14 from beyond the arc in her previous three games entering today, but Sessom didn't let that slow her down from hitting three consecutive three-pointers in 38 seconds, forcing a Florida timeout at 5:13 in the first with the Rebels leading 14-6.

"That really set us up, right then and there," McPhee-McCuin said. "When she hit her first three shots I said, 'we're gonna win this game.' I just felt so confident because we've seen a lot of those go in and out in the last three games."

It was a huge day for senior La'Karis Salter as well, who put together career highs with 18 points and five assists, as well as five rebounds and one block. Sessom and Salter combined for 15 of the 22 Ole Miss points in the first quarter, as well as 21 of the 34 Rebel points at halftime.

"I think the biggest thing for us is coming out and playing hard and making the first punch," Salter told SEC Network following the game. "We had some rough losses in the beginning and even here, so I think our first step was to just come out with energy. Be energetic. This is our home court, protect our home court, and just come out and fight, and that was our goal for 40 minutes."

Despite being outscored 22-14 by the Rebels in the third quarter, Florida made a charge in the early stages of the fourth, ripping off a 9-0 run to cut the Ole Miss lead to 58-56 with 7:09 left to play. The Rebels were resilient, though, with freshman Taylor Smith hitting a layup before a La'Karis Salter three made it 63-56 with 5:40 left to play.

Smith, who also put up a career day with nine points, had what Coach Yo defined as the play of the game with 4:45 left to play, getting tied up for a jump ball for the Rebels, giving Smith a steal and forcing a big team celebration on the baseline. Ole Miss used that momentum and some timely free throw shooting to withstand some late shots from the Gators toward victory.

"Everyone loves winning," McPhee-McCuin said. "When we win, it's not hard to get them pumped up to get another one. The hardest one is the first one, and we got over that hump with Kentucky."

Today's win was most impressive considering that senior Crystal Allen – the SEC's second leading scorer entering today at 18.5 PPG – was held scoreless in the first half for the first time all season. Allen was actually held scoreless for the first 27:15 of the game, but she still ended up with 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Allen was an essential piece of the puzzle for the Rebels in the fourth quarter, hitting a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter alone. Allen was 9-of-9 from the charity stripe today, making her 28-of-29 in her last three games on 28 consecutive makes.

The win today marks the first consecutive SEC games won since the 2016-17 season when the Rebels defeated Georgia at home on Jan. 29, 2017 (69-62) and Florida in Gainesville on Feb. 6 (85-75).

"It's good to know that we're trending upwards," McPhee-McCuin said. "I still believe that we will probably play our best basketball in March. I believe that we're a month behind most teams, but that's good news. We are in a good place right now. Everyone is excited, everyone is excited to represent Ole Miss."

TOURNAMENT TIME
Ole Miss enters the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament as the No. 12 seed, facing a matchup with No. 13 Florida in the first game of the Tournament on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. CT.

All-time, Ole Miss holds a 27-38 record in the SEC Tournament -- a 1-0 record vs. Florida after defeating the Gators in the first round last season. The Rebels have made the SEC final twice: once in the first-ever SEC Tournament in 1980 vs. Tennessee (L, 85-71) and again in 1983 against Georgia (L, 72-69).

The Rebels and first-year head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin were picked to finish last in the SEC in both the preseason media and coaches polls.

HIGH-POWERED SHOWDOWN
Wednesday's tournament opener will feature the SEC's top-two three-point shooters in Ole Miss' Crystal Allen and Florida's Funda Nakkasoglu. Allen had led the conference in three-pointers for most of the season until the final game of the season when Nakkasoglu went 5-of-9 from beyond the arc to take the lead at 80 to Allen's 79 three-pointers and help the Gators toward victory over Vanderbilt for sole possession of the No. 13 seed.

Combined, the two seniors have hit 159 three-pointers this season at a clip of 37.5 percent.

COACH YO IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin owns a 7-4 all-time record in conference tournaments after five successful seasons in the Atlantic Sun at Jacksonville University from 2014-18. Under Coach Yo, the Dolphins won the 2016 ASUN title and wound up playing South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Coach Yo led JU to three straight postseason appearances from 2016-18 (WNIT or NCAA) and the first three consecutive 20-win seasons in school history.

REBELS VS. THE RPI TOP-100
Ole Miss had a fairly strong non-conference schedule with the likes of current RPI top-100 teams like UConn (No. 6), Purdue (No. 87) and TCU (No. 43) and Troy (No. 94), but the SEC slate has been even more difficult, with nine conference schools all within the top-100 and five within the top-30. Ole Miss ended the regular season with the No. 70 toughest schedule overall.

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 11 of 15 conference games thus far, averaging a combined 36.8 PPG while shooting 84.5 percent from the free throw line and hitting 77 of the 84 Rebel three-pointers in SEC play (91.7 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 has faced six ranked opponents in 2018-19. 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 -- at No. 12 South Carolina (76-42) and vs. No. 6 Mississippi State (80-66).

VARIETY IN THE STARTING LINEUP
Ole Miss has utilized nine different starting lineups in SEC play this season, as well as 16 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.

EARLY SUCCESS = WINS
When the Rebel offense has gotten off to a strong start, it has meant good things for Ole Miss. The Rebels are 8-3 when holding a lead at halftime, sitting ahead by an average of 8.5 points each time.

OFF THE GLASS
Currently, Ole Miss is 6-3 in games when out-rebounding opponents, but just 3-17 when getting beat on the glass. The Rebels average 35.9 rebounds per game -- 41.0 in wins, 33.5 in losses.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

OH MY, SHE'S ON FIRE!
Senior Crystal Allen has been lights-out, scoring 20 or more in five of her last six games (22.5 PPG) and hitting at least two three-pointers in each game after only averaging 11.8 PPG in her previous four outings. In that stretch, Allen has accounted for 38.9 percent of all Rebel scoring. In her last two games alone, she has scored 50 points after a 20-point outing at Alabama and a 30-point showing vs. Tennessee, which stands as 50.5 percent of Ole Miss scoring in those two games.

In these last six games, Allen is shooting 37.1 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from three. Allen's 29-point performance vs. No. 6 Mississippi State is tied for the most points scored against the Bulldogs this season.

ALLEN MAKES SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC
Ole Miss redshirt senior Crystal Allen has put together a superb season in her lone year in a Rebel uniform, becoming the first Rebel to earn All-SEC honors since Tia Faleru was named First-Team in 2014-15:

• Has started 25 of 30 games
• Ole Miss leading scorer in 26 of 30 games
• 3rd SEC in total points (549)
• 3rd in SEC with 18.3 PPG
• Ranks 4th with 18.4 PPG in SEC play
• 2nd SEC in threes made (79)
• Leads the SEC in free throw shooting at 82.6 percent
• Also ranks in SEC overall top-10 in: threes per game (2nd, 2.6), three-point shooting (6th, .335) and minutes per game (8th, 33.7)
• 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
• 13 games with 20+ points
• Double-digits in 27 of 30 games played
• 20+ points in five of last six games (averaging 22.5 PPG)
• Has accounted for 38.9 percent of all Rebel scoring in the last six games
• Has scored 50 points in the last two games, 50.5 percent of all Rebel scoring
• 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)
• 29 points vs. No. 6 Mississippi State registered tied for the most scored against the Bulldogs this season
• 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 (79)
• Averaging 21.7 PPG in wins, 17.9 PPG on the road

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 1,418 points and 624 rebounds in her storied career, Sessom is one of just 11 Rebels to ever eclipse 1,400 points and 600 boards.

ALLEN ON PACE FROM THREE
Crystal Allen has been money from three for the Rebels this year, draining 79 of the 166 Ole Miss treys this year (47.6 percent). At her pace of 2.6 treys per game, Allen is on pace to sink 81 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.

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. She is 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 sixth among all freshmen nationally with 125 assists, putting her average of 4.5 per game at No. 6 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.

BIG TICKET = BIG BUCKETS
Senior La'Karis Salter has been on fire in conference play, recording seven of her 11 double-digit games in SEC play, 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.

GETTING IN A GROOVE
Senior Shandricka Sessom was struggling from beyond the arc for a bit to start SEC play, going 2-for-18 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. In the nine games following the Florida showing, Sessom went 25-of-53 from beyond the arc and scored in double-digits six times. Sessom has 54 threes this season, giving her and fellow senior Crystal Allen (79) a combined total of 133 of 166 total Ole Miss treys this year (80.1 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 182 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-) – 182
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.

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 seventh among active SEC scorers with 1,418 points, while Allen's 1,377 puts her at ninth in the league.

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

Cecilia Muhate

Mimi Reid

La'Karis Salter

Shandricka Sessom

Taylor Smith

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