Rebels Trek to Missouri for Sunday Evening Showdown

			OLE MISS (7-19, 0-13 SEC) at MISSOURI (7-19, 4-9 SEC) Sunday, Feb. 23 • 5 p.m. • Columbia, Mo. Mizzou Arena (15,061)
Watch • Live Stats • Listen Ole Miss Game Notes (PDF) • Missouri Game Notes • SEC Game Notes

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Ole Miss women's basketball opens its last road swing of the season with a nationally televised tilt at Missouri, with tipoff set for 5 p.m. CT Sunday evening on SEC Network.

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (7-19, 0-13 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 2nd Season at Ole Miss (16-41) • 110-104 career record (7th Season)

Missouri Tigers (7-19, 4-9 SEC)
Head Coach: Robin Pingeton • 10th Season at Missouri (178-138) • 513-295 career record (25th season)

ON THE AIR

Television/Online: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Brenda VanLengen
Color: Dan Hughes

OLE MISS RADIO

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

SERIES AT A GLANCE
At Oxford: Missouri leads 4-1
At Columbia: Missouri leads 5-0
At Neutral Sites: Missouri leads 1-0
Longest UM Streak: 1 (1981)
Longest MU Streak: 10 (2013-Pres.)
Biggest UM Win: 6 (1/5/81 - at Oxford)
Biggest MU Win: 35 (2/23/17)
Most UM Points: 76 (1/2/14 - at Oxford)
Last 10 Meetings: Missouri leads 10-0
Most MU Points: 100 (2/23/17 - at Columbia)

SERIES NOTES vs. MISSOURI

Series History
Missouri leads, 10-1

Current Streak
Missouri, 10

First Meeting
Jan. 5, 1981
• W, 64-58, in Oxford
• Only game played while Missouri was not a member of the SEC

First SEC Meeting
Jan. 20, 2013
• L, 73-72, in Oxford

Last Meeting
Jan. 19, 2020
• L, 71-57, in Oxford

Last Win
Jan. 5, 1981
• W, 64-58, in Oxford

Last Time in Columbia
Jan. 3, 2019
• L, 78-55, in Columbia
• Crystal Allen: 25 points
• Taylor Smith: 6 points, 7 rebounds, first career start
• Mimi Reid: 5 points

SCOUTING MISSOURI

Record
7-19, 4-9 SEC

National Rankings
AP Ranking: N/A
Coaches Ranking: N/A

Last Game
W, 78-66, at Vanderbilt
• Top Scorers: Hayley Frank (24), Aijha Blackwell (18)
• Blackwell: 18 points, 14 rebounds
• Shot .439, allowed .412
• Held Vanderbilt to 1-of-10 from three
• Shot 20-of-27 from free throw line
• Recorded 10 blocks
• Missouri: 26 points off turnovers, 30 points off the bench

Notes
• RPI: 133
• Shooting .408, allowing .411
• Shooting .345 from three, allowing .340
• Converting 73.9 percent of its free throws
• Scoring Margin: -5.5 PPG
• Rebounding Margin: -3.3
• 2nd SEC in free throw shooting (.739)
• 3rd SEC in threes per game (7.5)
• Ranks in NCAA top-50 in: threes made (44th, 196), free throws made (47th, 348)

MISSOURI PLAYERS TO WATCH

#33 Aijha Blackwell
• 14.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.5 APG
• .380 FG, .290 3PT, .600 FT
• Leads SEC, 20th NCAA in FT att. (160)
• 5th SEC in conference-only scoring (16.6 PPG) and rebounding (8.3/game)
• 10th SEC in overall scoring (14.1 PPG)
• Jan. 19 vs. Ole Miss: 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, 7-of-10 FG, 3-of-5 3PT, 3-of-3 FT

#23 Amber Smith
• 12.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.6 APG
• .420 FG, .321 3PT, .833 FT
• Career vs. Ole Miss (4 games): 38 points (9.5 PPG), 25 rebounds (6.3/game), 5 assists (1.3/game), 4 blocks (1.0/game), 2 steals (0.5/game), 15-of-28 FG (.536), 4-of-8 3PT (.500), 4-of-6 FT (.667)
• 2020, in Oxford: 8 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block
• 2019, at Missouri: 18 points, 2 rebounds, 8-of-10 FG
• 2018, in Oxford: 8 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks

LAST TIME OUT (vs. #14 KENTUCKY)
Ole Miss women's basketball led an early charge against No. 14 Kentucky, but the Wildcats responded tenfold in a 94-52 victory over the Rebels at The Pavilion on Feb. 20.

Kentucky (20-5, 9-4 SEC) withstood a brief but rapid onslaught from the Rebel offense at the jump, as Ole Miss got out to a 7-0 lead after draining each of its first three shots. The Wildcats responded in kind, though, and ended the game at a blistering 50.7 percent overall and 47.8 percent from three on an 11-of-23 clip, while also turning 21 Ole Miss turnovers into 31 points.

"Kentucky is No. 14 in the country for a reason," said Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "I thought that they wore us down mentally. They played a lot of people and kept running them in and out, and we couldn't keep up with the pace of the game. We struggled. They just got the best of us tonight."

Ole Miss had the unenviable task of guarding national player of the year candidate Rhyne Howard, who ended up with 21 points, seven rebounds, five steals and one block despite having one hand in a wrap following a recent injury. Howard is on watch lists for the Citizen Naismith Trophy, John R. Wooden Award and the Dawn Staley Award.

"Rhyne Howard could go in the WNBA right now and be in the top-four in the draft," McPhee-McCuin said. "She's a pro for a reason, she beat us with one hand."

Other Wildcats in double-digits included Sabrina Haines (15 points, four rebounds), Chasity Patterson (15 points, five assists), Blair Green (10 points) and Jaida Roper (10 points).

Rebel freshman Jayla Alexander led the way with 12 points and a 7-of-8 clip from the free throw line – helping contribute to an SEC season-high 18-of-22 performance for Ole Miss at the charity stripe. Mimi Reid also had 12 points to go along with four assists, the first time in her career she has scored in double digits in three consecutive games. Other Rebels contributing were Deja Cage (11 points) and Taylor Smith (six points).

TEAM NOTES

COACH YO VS. THE TOP-25
Being in the SEC means facing some of the toughest schools in the nation, and Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has had a tough road through her first two seasons in Oxford. Entering Sunday, Coach Yo's Rebels have gone up against 12 nationally ranked squads in two years at Ole Miss, 11 of which have come in SEC play. Ole Miss has one win against those 10, a 55-49 upset over No. 16 Kentucky in Lexington on Jan. 13, 2019, which marked the first ranked road win by a Rebel team since 2011 and the first win at UK overall since 2007.

vs. Ranked Schools (First Year)
#2 UConn - Nov. 22, 2018 (L, 90-50)
#16 Kentucky - Jan. 13, 2019 (W, 55-49)
#6 MSU - Jan. 27, 2019 (L, 80-49)
#20 Texas A&M - Feb. 3, 2019 (L, 72-60)
#12 S. Carolina - Feb. 7, 2019 (L, 76-42)
#6 MSU - Feb. 21, 2019 (L, 88-60)

vs. Ranked Schools (Second Year)
#10 Texas A&M - Jan. 6, 2020 (L, 79-35)
#23 Tennessee - Jan. 9, 2020 (L, 84-28)
#9 MSU - Jan. 26, 2020 (L, 80-39)
#1 S. Carolina - Jan. 30, 2020 (L, 87-32)
#23 Arkansas - Feb. 16, 2020 (L, 108-64)
#14 Kentucky - Feb. 20, 2020 (L, 94-52)

VARIETY IN THE STARTING LINEUP
Ole Miss has used 18 different starting lineups in 26 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.

OFF THE LINE
Ole Miss has proved difficult to damage from distance, ranking seventh in the SEC at an opposing three-point percentage of 30.3 while holding opponents to five or fewer three-pointers in 18 of 26 games this season. The Rebels have been particularly stout from beyond the arc lately, stifling Alabama (3-of-20), Vanderbilt (3-of-8) and Florida (3-of-11) to a 9-of-39 clip (.231) in three straight from Feb. 2-13.

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.

In the Coach Yo era, three-point defense has been a point of emphasis, holding opponents to five threes or fewer in 35 of 57 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.

FIRST HALF SUCCESS = WINS
Ole Miss has found its way into the win column more times than not when having a strong first half effort. The Rebels are 7-1 when leading at the break, with their lone loss coming against Georgia after holding a 28-27 halftime lead. Likewise, Ole Miss is 0-17 when trailing at halftime and 0-1 when tied at the break.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

MIMI TO THE RIM
Sophomore Mimi Reid has recently become an important scoring factor for the Rebels, averaging 13.7 points and shooting 44.8 percent overall in her last three games. Reid has been in double-digit scoring in each of those games with outings of 16 points at Florida, 13 points vs. No. 23 Arkansas and 12 points vs. No. 14 Kentucky -- the first time in her career that she has done so three times in a row. In that stretch, Reid has hit at least four free throws.

Reid has also been a steady force for the Rebels at point guard, leading Ole Miss and ranking ninth in the SEC with 3.7 assists per game.

DYNAMIC DUO IN SEC PLAY
Rebel junior Deja Cage and freshman Jayla Alexander have been the driving force for Ole Miss in conference play, currently combining for 45.6 percent of all Rebel points scored in SEC season. Additionally, the tandem have drained 47 of 63 Ole Miss threes in conference play, which comes to 74.6 percent. Individually during SEC season, Cage is averaging 12.5 points and 2.3 threes, while Alexander is averaging 9.3 points per game.

OH MY, SHE'S ON FIRE!
Junior Deja Cage has been a dynamic scorer for the Rebels, recording 17 different double-digit games and six 20-point games through 26 contests this season. Cage has also been one of the most consistent three-point shooters in the league, ranking fourth in threes per game (2.2).

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. She is one of just four Rebels in the last five years to have recorded a 30-point game.

OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS
Sophomore Taylor Smith was always known for her smooth mid-range jumper, but she has now developed that just a few feet backward into a deadly three-point shot. With just three trifectas in her career entering a Feb. 13 contest at Florida, Smith drained three from beyond the arc -- including two in a row -- to help stimulate what ended up as an electric outing for the Rebel offense. Smith kept it up against No. 23 Arkansas, going a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and hitting all six of her first shots, ending with 17 points.

Smith is a career 39.2 percent shooter overall, and her 8-of-24 clip from three in her two seasons sits at 33.3 percent. She only attempted one three during her freshman season.

BIG MINUTES FOR ALEXANDER
Freshman and Pearl, Mississippi native Jayla Alexander has been a key member on the floor for the Rebels in SEC play, currently ranking second among SEC freshmen on the year in minutes per game (31.3).

Alexander has become a staple in the starting lineup for Ole Miss, starting each of the last 15 games dating back to Dec. 20 after serving as a crucial reserve off the bench in her first 11 games as a Rebel. In that stretch, Alexander scored 101 points off the bench -- including 52 points in a four-game stretch from Nov. 15 to Nov. 26. Alexander went off against New Orleans with a 21-point outing against the Privateers on a 5-of-8 clip from beyond the arc. On the year, she has recorded 11 double-digit games, including five of her last nine that were highlighted by a 16-point outing against Missouri on Jan. 19 and a 15-point game against Alabama.

BANKS WITH THE REJECTION
Junior Dominique Banks is on pace for a historical season defensively. At her average of 2.1 blocks per game, she is on pace to rank on the Ole Miss single-season record in blocks with 61. Banks is currently the NCAA's 33rd-best in blocks per game and No. 25 overall in total blocks (55).

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.

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 32.9 percent three-point shooter. In her career, 85.9 percent of all of her field goals have come from three-point distance.

Lewis shot a combined 11-of-28 (.393) from three-point distance in three games from Dec. 16-28, 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.

In her career, Lewis owns 31 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).

TWO NEW FACES
Ole Miss welcomed two new faces to the team this semester in the form of freshman early enrollee Caitlin McGee and former student manager Tootie Rankin.

McGee – a 6-1 forward out of Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, Florida – graduated early this past December. She will sit out as a redshirt for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. A three-star recruit by ESPN as part of a 2020 Ole Miss class that ranks No. 1 in the SEC, McGee was a varsity letterwinner in both basketball and track & field while at Sandalwood. In her three-year career, she averaged 18.0 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. She is a three-time all-conference selection and a three-time first-team All-Area and All-City member.

Rankin, meanwhile, joins the active Rebel roster after serving as a student manager for the 2019-20 season. Rankin transferred to Ole Miss after two seasons at Southwest Mississippi Community College, where she played in 48 total games. Rankin saw her first action on Jan. 19 vs. Missouri and earned her first start at Auburn.

A biochemistry major, Rankin excelled at SWMCC, earning a 4.0 GPA. She was awarded the Lyceum Scholar Award from Ole Miss, given to 15 transfer students from across the country who must be excellent leaders who excel both in and out of the classroom.

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

Deja Cage

Torri Lewis

Caitlin McGee

Tootie Rankin

Mimi Reid

Taylor Smith

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