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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Auburn
Women's Basketball Back in Action at Auburn on Thursday
2/23/2022 | Women's Basketball
Rebels On the Hunt for 10th SEC Win
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OLE MISS (21-6, 9-5 SEC) at AUBURN (10-15, 2-12 SEC) Thursday, February 24 • 7 p.m. CT • Auburn, Ala. Auburn Arena  |
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Watch • Live Stats • Listen
Ole Miss Game Notes • SEC Game Notes |
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AUBURN, Ala. – Ole Miss wraps up a busy stretch with its third game in five days with its final regular season road trip to Auburn for a Thursday night tilt. A win against the Tigers would move the Rebels to double-digit SEC wins for the first time in 20 years. Tipoff from Auburn Arena is set for 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network +.
TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (21-6, 9-5 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 4th Season at Ole Miss (52-63) • 146-125 career record (9th Season)
Auburn Tigers (10-15, 2-12 SEC)
Head Coach: Johnnie Harris • 1st Season at AU (10-15) • 10-15 career record (1st Season)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: SEC Network +
Play by Play: JJ Jackson
Analyst: Joe Ciampi
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
SERIES NOTES
SERIES HISTORY vs. AUBURN
Despite Ole Miss winning last year's lone meeting between the two schools, Auburn holds the all-time advantage 37-26 in the series dating back to 1978.
A Rebel win on Thursday would be its ninth in Auburn and its only win on The Plains in the last seven seasons.
In last year's matchup against the Tigers, Shakira Austin dropped 25 points and 10 rebounds en route to a close 62-58 victory in Oxford.
FIRST MEETING
- 12/08/78- UM, 107-62-at Auburn
LAST MEETING
- 01/07/21-UM 62-58-at Oxford
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Under the helm of first year head coach Johnnie Harris, the Tigers have knocked off three ranked teams, including two in Auburn Arena.
The Tigers are coming off of a 65-60 win this past Sunday against then No. 21 Georgia at home.
The SEC's fourth leading scorer Aicha Coulibaly is averaging 17.8 points per game and 17.3 points per game in conference play.
LAST TIME OUT
Ole Miss fended off one of the nation's best three point shooting teams in Arkansas Tuesday night, with a 70-62 game from the SJB Pavilion, in a contest originally scheduled for Dec. 30.
It was an all around effort on both sides of the ball, as four Rebels totaled double-digits in scoring.
Grabbing the most rebounds in a single game this season, was Shakira Austin with a total of 16. Austin added 11 points for her ninth double-double of the year and her second in a row.
Key reserve Angel Baker, came in off the bench for 17 points as she got hot in the second half.
The Rebels were dangerous around the rim with an SEC-high nine blocked shots against the Razorbacks.
FOLLOW THE FOOTSTEPS
Off the glass, Shakira Austin has been on a tear the past two games with 15 boards at Vanderbilt and then 16 against Arkansas. The 16 were the most by a Rebel in a game this year.
Shakira is the only Rebel to snag 15+ boards in back-to-back games since assistant coach Armintie (Price) Herrington in 2003.
PROTECT THE RIM
Against Arkansas, Madison Scott led the Rebels with a career-high four blocks as the team finished with a total of nine for the most in an SEC game this season.
SEC WINS JUST MEAN MORE
With its ninth SEC victory, Ole Miss tied the most in a season in the last 20 years.
The Rebels have not reached double-digit wins in SEC play sine the 1991-92 season where the Rebels went 11-0 in conference play.
ASSISTING ON AND OFF THE COURT
Redshirt senior Mimi Reid has been a fixture throughout the Oxford community in her five years at Ole Miss and on Wednesday, Reid was named to the SEC Community Service Team.
Reid has spent time with numerous organizations through the community, assisting to gather items for the Feed the Sip Food drive, and working with the Boys and Girls Club of Oxford.
HISTORY HAPPENS HERE
The win over the Commodores on Sunday was just another milestone set by the Rebels during the 2021-22 campaign as Ole Miss reached 20 wins for the first time since the 2006-07 season for the 20th 20 win season in prgoram history.
EXCELLENT GLASS CLEANERS
There's a reason why Ole Miss has rebounded its opponents in over half of its games this year, against Vanderbilt proved to be no different.
Ole Miss outrebounded its opponent for the 17th time this season, and cleaned up on the boards by a margin of 16+ at Vanderbilt.
This was the second time this year that Ole Miss has outrebounded its opponent by a margin of 15 or more in SEC play and the fifth time this season.
Five games with a 15+ rebound margin is the most in the last 10 seasons.
HOLDING IT DOWN
Aggressive defense by the Rebels assisted them to keeping Vanderbilt to only a mere 47 points in Sunday's matchup.
The Commodores are the latest victims to the Rebel defense, being the 10th Ole Miss opponent to be kept under 50 points this season as the program record is extended.
WE LIKE TO MIX THINGS UP
Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin loves to tinker with her lineup as Sunday was her 11th different starting rotation this season.
The combination of Mimi Reid, Destiny Salary, Madison Scott, Snudda Collins and Shakira Austin has been the most successful this year with a perfect record of 6-0.
KIRA'S WORLD
There was no stopping Shakira Austin against the Commodores, as the senior almost single handedly outrebounded Vanderbilt as a team herself.
Austin grabbed a then season-high 15 rebounds and added her eighth 20 point performance of the season with a total of 22.
She is the only Rebel in the last seven seasons to notch 20 points and 15 boards in a single game.
THAT'S 50
The win over the Aggies marked an important milestone Thursday night for head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin with her 50th win as the head coach at Ole Miss.
McPhee-McCuin continues along one of the best campaigns of her coaching career and is four wins away from tying her career season-high of wins in a season at 24.
SWEET SWEEP
From start to finish, Ole Miss maintained complete control over Texas A&M to claim its second win of the season over the Aggies.
It was the first victory over the Aggies at home since 2017, and the first regular season sweep of A&M in progrma history.
YOU GET A BUCKET! & YOU GET A BUCKET!
It was an all around scoring affair against Texas A&M as 10 Rebels made their way to the bucket.
For the second game in conference play, Ole Miss accomplished this task with 10 scoring with both games against Texas A&M.
THE ACCOLADES CONTINUE
For the second straight year, Shakira Austin has found herself named to the Lisa Leslie Award Top- 10 Watch List as one of the nation's best centers.
Austin was also recently named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top-20 List and the Naismith Award Midseason Team.
1K x 2
With the first rebound of the game against Texas A&M, Shakira Austin hit the 1,000 career rebound mark 118 games into her career. She is the only active player in the SEC with 1,000 career boards.
Austin eclipsing 1,000, makes her one of seven active players in Division I with 1,500 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
DOMINANT OFF THE GLASS
Madison Scott was on a tear off the glass against LSU, grabbing a season-high 15 rebounds against the Tigers. Scott finished one shy of her career-high of 16 set last season.
Scott and Austin are the only Rebels in the last five seasons to grab 15+ boards in a single game and Scott's done it twice in her two years in Oxford.
THREAT AROUND THE RIM
The effectiveness of the Rebel defense can be seen around the rim with 11 games this season with five plus blocks as a team.
This sets the most games in a single season with five or more blocks under McPhee-McCuin.
QUIET IN CoMo
Coming in as the nation's fourth best team in field goal percentage, Ole Miss made sure of it that the Tigers could not find the basket, only allowing 45 points.
It marked the fewest points allowed in an SEC road game since January 12, 1991 in a 67-41 win at Mississippi State.
The Rebels also kept Mizzou scoreless from three, for the first time in 14 seasons that the Tigers went a game without a triple.
ANY TIME. ANY PLACE.
With the victory at Missouri, the Rebels moved to 8-1 on the road to set the most wins away from home for the program in the 21st century.
A win at Auburn would tie the most road wins in a season since 1993-94 at nine.
NO THREE'S HERE
In three SEC games, the Rebels have been a threat against teams attempting to get shots up beyond the arc, with Florida, Kentucky and Missouri unable to hit a triple against the Rebels.
This is the only time in 20 seasons in which Ole Miss has held three SEC opponents scoreless from beyond the arc.
CAN'T GET PAST THIS
Ole Miss loves to take the ball away from its opponents and for the 14th game this year the Rebels recorded double-digit steals against Missouri.
The 14 games in double-figures are the most in a single season in the McPhee-McCuin era.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
Ole Miss has knocked off a top-10 opponent 29 times in program history, and have defeated a top-25 team a total of 87 times.
When the Rebels are ranked, Ole Miss boasts a record of 314-107 for a .745 winning percentage.
JUMPING IN
Coming in at No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches poll on Feb. 1, was another historic milestone for this Rebel squad.
The last time Ole Miss was slotted in the poll was Jan. 29, 2007.
The Rebels remained in the poll for a second straight week on Feb. 8 at No. 25, the first time Ole Miss had been in the poll for two straight weeks since 2005.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Rebels are dangerous on the road as four straight conference road wins to open SEC play was the longest streak since the 1991-92 season where the Rebels won six straight SEC road games.
RESPECT EARNED
For the first time in 15 seasons, Ole Miss found itself ranked in the Jan. 24 AP Poll coming in at No. 24.
It was the Rebels first appearance in the poll since January 22, 2007 when assistant coach Armintie Herrington (Price) was a senior for the Rebels. The youngest Rebel on the squad, Jaiyah Harris-Smith was four at the time.
LONE STAR STATE-MENT
The history books keep being rewritten, as Ole Miss checked off another milestone during the 2021-22 campaign, with its first road win against Texas A&M in the 80-63 victory from Bryan-College Station.
The Ole Miss defense cashed in off of A&M turnovers for a total of 25 points. While the Aggies couldn't hold onto the ball, the Rebels did an exceptional job of taking care of it with a season-low six turnovers.
CASHING IN
Making its opponents pay for its mistakes has been a theme for Ole Miss during conference play, as the Rebels are averaging 16.0 points per game off of turnovers.
In three out of 14 SEC games, Ole Miss has returned its opponents turnovers for 25 or more points. At Texas A&M, the Rebels returned Aggie turnovers for 25 points, while the Aggies were only able to score two.
1,500 CLUB
While Lashonda Monk hit the 1,500 career point milestone last month, Shakira Austin and Angel Baker eclipsed the mark with 11 and 20 points against LSU.
The three are one of 82 active players in Division I with 1,500 career points. Ole Miss is only one of four programs nationally with three 1,500 point scorers on its roster.
CRASH THE BOARDS
Off the glass against Mississippi State in Oxford, Ole Miss dominated the Bulldogs off the boards by a margin of 20 more at 43 to 23. This was the Rebels third game this season with a rebounding margin of 20 or more.
The feat against the Bulldogs was the largest rebounding margin against an SEC team since facing Vanderbilt in January of 2007, where the Rebels outrebounded the Commodores by 20. Former Rebel and current assistant coach, Armintie Herrington (Price) led Ole Miss in that game with a total of 11 rebounds.
TIDE. ROLLED.
The high-flying Rebel offense contributed to another historic mark set against Alabama, as Ole Miss claimed its second straight win in the series.
The 30 point margin of victory against the Crimson Tide was the largest margin of victory against an SEC opponent in 13 seasons. The 2008-2009 Rebels defeated Alabama by 30 points in Oxford.
ALL OUT EFFORT
Through 14 SEC games, Ole Miss is forcing an average of 17.2 turnovers per game. Six out of 14 conference opponents have turned the ball over 20 or more times, with Florida surrendering an SEC opponent high of 25, followed by Tennessee with 22 and then Alabama with 21 in three consecutive games
The last time the Rebels forced 20+ turnovers in three straight games, was in 2017 in non-conference games against Middle Tennessee, Arkansas State and South Alabama.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
Not only are the Rebels one of the best teams in the SEC in terms of taking the ball away from its opponents, they also continue to prove that they can take care of it as well.
They love to win the turnover battle, as the Rebels currently lead the SEC with an average of 4.85turnovers less than their opponent each game. This also ranks 27th in all of Division I.
Against Texas A&M, in Bryan-College Station the six turnovers surrendered to the Aggies, were the fewest in any game this season by the Rebels.
SHE'S GOT RANGE
We all knew that Shakira Austin has the ability to go to work and get it done in the paint, but the senior also proved that she's got the option of nailing a deep shot when she wants.
Austin hit back-to-back triple's in the fourth quarter against MSU in Oxford, to set a new-career high.
SHE'S STOLEN OUR HEARTS
There's a reason why Lashonda Monk ranks second in the nation in active career steals with a total of 433.
The graduate transfer has a total of 58 so far this season, and recorded a steal in each of the first nine games this season.
After Monk picked up her 400th steal against Alabama, she became of 31 in NCAA history to join the 400 steal club.
With two steals at Mississippi State, Monk cracked the top-20 in NCAA history.
WORK HARD, GET REWARDED
With 15 trips to the line against Florida, Shakira Austin capitalized off of going hard in the paint to ultimately knock down 10 free throws.
She followed this up the next game against No. 7 Tennessee with 12 trips to the line, to knock down 10 free throws.
Austin's 15 free throw attempts tie the most in a single-game by any SEC player this season. She ranks second in the conference in attempts at 164 and second in makes at 110.
SHINING AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
With 26 points against No. 7 Tennessee, Shakira Austin loves to pour it on against ranked opponents.
In her 15 games against ranked opponents as a Rebel, she is currently averaging 17.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
ROAD TOUGH AND TESTED
With wins at Cal, Cincinnati, Hofstra, Florida and Texas A&M, Ole Miss loves to prove its talent nation wide with a record of 6-0 on the road to start the season.
This is the first time that the Rebels began their time on the road with six straight wins since the 1986-87 season.
It was the longest program road winning streak since the 1993-94 season.
UNDER PRESSURE
Every road trip Ole Miss makes sure to pack its defense, and the trek to Gainesville was no exception.
The Rebels forced 25 turnovers against the Gators, forcing its opponents to hand over the ball 25 times or more for the fourth game this year.
The 19.2 turnovers forced per game rank second in the SEC and rank 39th in the country.
STATEMENT. MADE.
Not only did Ole Miss pick up its first ranked win of the season against then No. 18 South Florida, it also was the first non-conference win over a ranked opponent for the program since 2007.
PICK POCKET PROS
Ole Miss recorded a season-high 18 steals at Florida, for the most steals in against an SEC opponent since facing Alabama in the 2007 SEC Tournament. The Rebels have recorded double-digit steals in 15 of 27 games this season.
The Rebels have accumulated a total of 268 steals this season ranking second in the SEC and 22nd in Division I.
STREAK SETTERS
With 13 wins in a row dating from Nov. 14 through Jan. 6, Ole Miss rode its longest winning streak since the 1991 Rebels won 25 games in a row.
The 13 straight wins ranks third all-time in consecutive victories in program history.
BLOCK PARTY QUEEN
With her first two of three blocks at Hofstra, Shakira Austin eclipsed the 200 career block mark.
Austin currently ranks fifth in the SEC and 13th nationally with a total of 226 blocks throughout her four year career.
The senior was a menace against the Crimson Tide, with a season-high seven blocks.
The seven deflections were also the most by any Rebel in a single game this year.
DEFENSE > OFFENSE
The Rebels continue to slow down their opponents at a record pace, as 26 games into the season Ole Miss has held 20 opponents under 50 points for a program record.
Ole Miss currently ranks No. 21 nationally in scoring defense and second in the SEC, allowing an average of 55.2 points per game.
The pressure on the opposite side of the ball has proven to be too much, as the Rebels rank first in the conference forcing an average of 19.4 turnovers per game.
SHOOTING HER SHOT (PERFECTLY)
Against the Bearcats, Madison Scott's 8-of-8 mark to finish with 18 points accomplished a new Rebel feat.
Scott became the only player at Ole Miss in the last 20 seasons to shoot 1.000 or better with eight or more attempts in a single game.
WE'VE GOT A FEW ARTISTS
Throughout the season Ole Miss has continued to make its presence known in the paint, scoring an average of 37.2 points in the paint per game.
Ole Miss has posted a season-high 46 points twice this season at Cincinnati and Mississippi State
WE DEFEND
Defense is the name of the Rebel game and for three games in a row against San Diego State, Cal and New Orleans, Ole Miss held each opponent under 50 points.
The feat was last accomplished by the Rebels in January of 1991 holding Jackson State, Mississippi State and Prairie View A&M under 50 points each.
SHUTTING IT DOWN
From the floor against Cal, Ole Miss held an opposing Power Five opponent to the lowest field goal percentage allowed within the past 10 seasons.
The Bears shot 13-of-56 from the field, hitting 23.2 percent of their shots.
The 19 point win over the Bears was the largest margin of victory against a non-conference Power Five team since defeating Wisconsin by 25 points in 2016.
OFF THE LINE
Three-point defense has been a point of emphasis during the Coach Yo era, with 70 of 108 opponents being held to five or fewer.
1st Season (2018-19)
17-of-31 (54.8%)
2nd Season (2019-20)
21-of-30 (70.0%)
3rd Season (2020-21)
14-of-22 (63.6 %)
4th Season (2021-22)
20-of-27 (74.1%)
DEFENSE ON LOCK
The Rebels have been unstoppable on the defensive side of the ball, holding their opponents to an average of 55.2 points per game.
The 44 points allowed to the Lady Techsters was the first time since the 2011-2012 season that Ole Miss kept its opponents under 50 points in back-to-back games. The Rebels followed this up again, keeping San Diego State and Cal under the mark as well.
The Lady Techsters were also held to just a mere 2 points in the second quarter, the fewest amount of points allowed by the Rebels in a quarter since the women's game moved to the format in 2015-2016.
SHARING IS CARING
The Rebels continue to drop dimes at a record pace, recording their eighth 20 plus assist against Texas A&M with 22.
Lashonda Monk tied a career-high with nine against the New Orleans, tying the most in a single-game by a Rebel in 2021.
Against Lamar and MVSU, the Rebels also racked up 24 assists. Against the Devilettes, Reid and Shakira Austin led the team with five a piece, while Austin set a new career-high.
All three outings tied the third most assists in a single game for the Rebels within the last four seasons.
ALL THE WAY UP
Powered by Shakira Austin, the Rebels were absolutely dominant on both sides of the boards, outrebounding their opponents by an average of 20.5 rebounds against Lamar and LA Tech.
The last time the Rebels accomplished this feat was in 2008, out rebounding Alcorn State and Nicholls State by 21 and 22 rebounds a piece.
OLE MISS EARNS PROGRAM WIN NO. 850
The Rebel win vs. Samford in the First Round of the WNIT marked the 850th win in program history. All-time, Ole Miss is currently 852-583 (.594) in 46 years of NCAA Division I competition. Entering the 2020-21 season, only 44 programs have eclipsed the 850-win threshold.
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
