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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Sunday, December 8
Oxford, Miss.
1 PM
Ole Miss
vs
Tennessee State
Women’s Basketball Returns Home for Matchup Against Tennessee State
12/7/2024 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. – No. 18/18 Ole Miss women's basketball returns back to Oxford for a four-game home stretch to cap off its non-conference slate, first hosting Tennessee State on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 8. Tipoff between the Rebels and the Tigers at the SJB Pavilion is set for 1 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
TEAM FACTS
No. 18/18 Ole Miss Rebels (5-3, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 7th Season at Ole Miss (108-87) • 12th Season in Career (202-150)
Tennessee State Tigers (4-5, 0-0 OVC)
Head Coach: Candice Dupree • 1st Season at TSU (4-5) • 1st Season in Career (4-5)
ON THE AIR
Television: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Brenda VanLengen
Color: Steffi Sorensen
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
OLE MISS VS. TENNESSEE STATE
Sunday's matchup will mark the fourth all-time between the two programs, with Ole Miss leading the series 3-0. The series dates back to 1983, when the Rebels stomped the Lady Tigers, 110-65.
Ole Miss' first game against Tennessee State proved to be a memorable one, with several school records being set.
Ole Miss converted a still-standing program record 38 free throws in that game, en-route to a share of the fifth-most points in a single game in program history. The Rebels scored 68 points in the second half, which also stands today as the most points scored by a Rebel squad in any half.
The Rebels have since beat the Lady Tigers twice. They won 90-50 in 2005, and most recently faced off on Nov. 24, 2013, with the Rebels claiming a 77-61 victory. Four players reached double-digits in that game, with Valencia McFarland claiming a game-high 22 points. Danielle McCray nearly had a double-double, with 11 points and nine rebounds.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
The Lady Tigers are led by Candice Dupree in her first season with the program. Dupree is a seven-time WNBA All-Star and former assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, bringing a wealth of court knowledge to Tennessee State.
The Lady Tigers are 4-5 to start the season after going 11-19 in 2023-24. Ole Miss is the only Power Four program on the schedule for Tennessee State this season. Tennessee State hasn't faced an SEC opponent since Vanderbilt traveled to Nashville on Nov. 25, 2019, where the Commodores emerged victorious 106-55. Tennessee State also faced in-state rival Tennessee in that season with the Lady Volunteers winning, 73-43.
Tennessee State is led by the freshman-senior duo of Somah Kamara and Lyric Cole, who pace the OVC in two major statistical categories. Kamara leads the Lady Tigers in scoring, averaging 14.9 per game. The freshman scored a season-high 29 points against UNC Asheville on 12-20 shooting. She also paces the OVC in points and made field goals to start the year. Cole sets the standard for Tennessee State in the rebounding category, averaging 8.4 a game and bringing in 29 on the offensive side thus far. The senior's 73 rebounds is the most in the OVC so far.
REBELS AGAINST THE OVC
The Rebels have been historically dominant against Ohio Valley Conference competition. They are 29-7 all-time against members of the conference, with the most competitions and wins coming against Tennessee Tech.
Tennessee State is the only OVC opponent Ole Miss will face in the regular season this year. Ole Miss is 8-1 against OVC opponents since 2009, last facing Little Rock last season. Ole Miss won that competition, 58-45. The only loss in that span came against Southeast Missouri State in 2019.
LAST TIME OUT
Although 18th-ranked Ole Miss built up a strong second half comeback attempt, the Rebels fell short against No. 24 NC State, 68-61, in the SEC/ACC Challenge matchup at the Reynolds Coliseum.
Despite falling behind early to the 2024 national semifinalists, Ole Miss remained competitive. The Rebels mounted an impressive resurgence in the fourth quarter to bring themselves within two points of NC State with two minutes remaining in the contest.
The Rebels' defense propelled them to remain in the game, as Ole Miss forced 22 turnovers and stole the ball 14 times. Ole Miss has forced at least 18 turnovers in all eight games this season. Additionally, the Rebels have reached at least 10 steals in a game for the seventh time this year.
Madison Scott and Tameiya Sadler led the Rebels with a pair of season-highs. Scott put up 15 points while Sadler added 14 to the scoreboard. It marks the first time Sadler's reached double-digit scoring as a Rebel. Kennedy Todd-Williams joined Scott and Sadler as the other double-digit scorer, putting up 12 points. Starr Jacobs shouldered the load on the glass, racking up a team-leading eight rebounds.
TURNOVERS ON TURNOVERS
Ole Miss' defense remains its strung suit, forcing all of its eight opponents this year to make 18+ turnovers. Additionally, all but one of those teams lost the ball at least 20 times in their matchup with the Rebels.
Ole Miss turned defense into offense all night versus Alabama State, scoring a season-high 42 points off of the Lady Hornet's 33 turnovers.
ROBBIN' THE BANK
The Rebels like to keep their opponents on their toes, as Ole Miss is nationally known for forcing lost balls. Earning at least 10 steals in seven of its eight games this season, the Rebels rank No. 3 in the SEC for steals per game.
Twice this year, Ole Miss secured season-highs of 20 steals against Jackson State and Alabama State, with 12 Rebels contributing to the cause in the latter contest. Prior to this season, the last time an Ole Miss team tallied 20+ steals was Dec. 28, 2016, where the Rebels grabbed 24 against Mississippi Valley State.
RECORD BREAKING REBS
Ole Miss has shown up and showed out in its first few home events of the 2024-25 season, allowing the fewest points in program history twice as it kept Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alabama State to just 24 points each.
Yolett McPhee-McCuin's teams now hold the top-3 spots in the record books of the fewest points allowed in Ole Miss history.
WIDENING THE MARGIN
Ole Miss' last win in November was a convincing one. By defeating Alabama State by 65 points at the SJB Pavilion, it marks the widest margin of victory in program history and the largest in the McPhee-McCuin era.
It's the sixth instance of an Ole Miss team reaching the +60 mark and only the second time in history that the Rebels have achieved the feat twice in the same year. Previously, Ole Miss defeated Arkansas Pine-Bluff by 61 points in the Rebels' first victory this season. The last time an Ole Miss squad has secured two 60-point margins wins in a year was the 1982-83 season.
ALL-TOURNAMENT REBS
KK Deans and Kennedy Todd-Williams were two of five student-athletes selected to the 2024 Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship All-Tournament team.
Combining for a team-high 32 points over the two games, Deans had a pair of standout performances in her first games back in the Bahamas since her season-ending injury last season in the Battle4Atlantis.
Against UConn, the graduate student boasted 17 points, including 12 in the third quarter to propel the Rebels within five points of the lead after being down 19 at the half. In the matchup versus Boston College, Deans tallied 15 points and was a perfect 6-6 from the charity line.
Todd-Williams tallied 13 points against UConn and had the best shooting night of her Ole Miss career, going 4-4 from beyond the arc, tying a career high in three-pointers in the process. Versus Boston College, Todd-Williams led the field with a season-high 17 points and five assists.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
True freshman guard Sira Thienou has wasted little time making her mark as an Ole Miss Rebel. The Bamako, Mali, native was tabbed SEC Co-Freshman of the Week on Tuesday, Nov. 26, the first such honor of her young career and the first award of its type for an Ole Miss player since Madison Scott earned the same accolade six times as a true freshman during the 2020-21 season.
Thienou scored in double figures in three straight outings for the Rebels in November, including consecutive 16-point outbursts against Jackson State (Nov. 18) and Boston College (Nov. 25). The last true freshman to record double-digit scoring efforts in three straight games was Scott herself who did it twice during her first season in Oxford.
Additionally, the last time an Ole Miss freshman had a 16-plus point performance was when Scott earned 17 against No. 18 Arkansas, on Feb. 19, 2021.
HOME SWEET HOME
Rebel nation has turned the SJB Pavilion into an intimidating environment for visiting teams, especially in the non-conference slate.
Ole Miss has won 27 of its last 30 games at home against non-conference opponents, dating back to the 2020 season.
STAY CONNECTED WITH THE REBELS
New season and single-game tickets for the 2024-25 Ole Miss basketball season are on sale now. To purchase or learn more about buying season or single-game tickets for women's basketball, click here or contact the Ole Miss Athletics ticket office.
Follow the Rebels on X at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole MissWBB. You can also follow head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on X at @YolettMcCuin.
TEAM FACTS
No. 18/18 Ole Miss Rebels (5-3, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 7th Season at Ole Miss (108-87) • 12th Season in Career (202-150)
Tennessee State Tigers (4-5, 0-0 OVC)
Head Coach: Candice Dupree • 1st Season at TSU (4-5) • 1st Season in Career (4-5)
ON THE AIR
Television: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Brenda VanLengen
Color: Steffi Sorensen
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
OLE MISS VS. TENNESSEE STATE
Sunday's matchup will mark the fourth all-time between the two programs, with Ole Miss leading the series 3-0. The series dates back to 1983, when the Rebels stomped the Lady Tigers, 110-65.
Ole Miss' first game against Tennessee State proved to be a memorable one, with several school records being set.
Ole Miss converted a still-standing program record 38 free throws in that game, en-route to a share of the fifth-most points in a single game in program history. The Rebels scored 68 points in the second half, which also stands today as the most points scored by a Rebel squad in any half.
The Rebels have since beat the Lady Tigers twice. They won 90-50 in 2005, and most recently faced off on Nov. 24, 2013, with the Rebels claiming a 77-61 victory. Four players reached double-digits in that game, with Valencia McFarland claiming a game-high 22 points. Danielle McCray nearly had a double-double, with 11 points and nine rebounds.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
The Lady Tigers are led by Candice Dupree in her first season with the program. Dupree is a seven-time WNBA All-Star and former assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, bringing a wealth of court knowledge to Tennessee State.
The Lady Tigers are 4-5 to start the season after going 11-19 in 2023-24. Ole Miss is the only Power Four program on the schedule for Tennessee State this season. Tennessee State hasn't faced an SEC opponent since Vanderbilt traveled to Nashville on Nov. 25, 2019, where the Commodores emerged victorious 106-55. Tennessee State also faced in-state rival Tennessee in that season with the Lady Volunteers winning, 73-43.
Tennessee State is led by the freshman-senior duo of Somah Kamara and Lyric Cole, who pace the OVC in two major statistical categories. Kamara leads the Lady Tigers in scoring, averaging 14.9 per game. The freshman scored a season-high 29 points against UNC Asheville on 12-20 shooting. She also paces the OVC in points and made field goals to start the year. Cole sets the standard for Tennessee State in the rebounding category, averaging 8.4 a game and bringing in 29 on the offensive side thus far. The senior's 73 rebounds is the most in the OVC so far.
REBELS AGAINST THE OVC
The Rebels have been historically dominant against Ohio Valley Conference competition. They are 29-7 all-time against members of the conference, with the most competitions and wins coming against Tennessee Tech.
Tennessee State is the only OVC opponent Ole Miss will face in the regular season this year. Ole Miss is 8-1 against OVC opponents since 2009, last facing Little Rock last season. Ole Miss won that competition, 58-45. The only loss in that span came against Southeast Missouri State in 2019.
LAST TIME OUT
Although 18th-ranked Ole Miss built up a strong second half comeback attempt, the Rebels fell short against No. 24 NC State, 68-61, in the SEC/ACC Challenge matchup at the Reynolds Coliseum.
Despite falling behind early to the 2024 national semifinalists, Ole Miss remained competitive. The Rebels mounted an impressive resurgence in the fourth quarter to bring themselves within two points of NC State with two minutes remaining in the contest.
The Rebels' defense propelled them to remain in the game, as Ole Miss forced 22 turnovers and stole the ball 14 times. Ole Miss has forced at least 18 turnovers in all eight games this season. Additionally, the Rebels have reached at least 10 steals in a game for the seventh time this year.
Madison Scott and Tameiya Sadler led the Rebels with a pair of season-highs. Scott put up 15 points while Sadler added 14 to the scoreboard. It marks the first time Sadler's reached double-digit scoring as a Rebel. Kennedy Todd-Williams joined Scott and Sadler as the other double-digit scorer, putting up 12 points. Starr Jacobs shouldered the load on the glass, racking up a team-leading eight rebounds.
TURNOVERS ON TURNOVERS
Ole Miss' defense remains its strung suit, forcing all of its eight opponents this year to make 18+ turnovers. Additionally, all but one of those teams lost the ball at least 20 times in their matchup with the Rebels.
Ole Miss turned defense into offense all night versus Alabama State, scoring a season-high 42 points off of the Lady Hornet's 33 turnovers.
ROBBIN' THE BANK
The Rebels like to keep their opponents on their toes, as Ole Miss is nationally known for forcing lost balls. Earning at least 10 steals in seven of its eight games this season, the Rebels rank No. 3 in the SEC for steals per game.
Twice this year, Ole Miss secured season-highs of 20 steals against Jackson State and Alabama State, with 12 Rebels contributing to the cause in the latter contest. Prior to this season, the last time an Ole Miss team tallied 20+ steals was Dec. 28, 2016, where the Rebels grabbed 24 against Mississippi Valley State.
RECORD BREAKING REBS
Ole Miss has shown up and showed out in its first few home events of the 2024-25 season, allowing the fewest points in program history twice as it kept Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alabama State to just 24 points each.
Yolett McPhee-McCuin's teams now hold the top-3 spots in the record books of the fewest points allowed in Ole Miss history.
WIDENING THE MARGIN
Ole Miss' last win in November was a convincing one. By defeating Alabama State by 65 points at the SJB Pavilion, it marks the widest margin of victory in program history and the largest in the McPhee-McCuin era.
It's the sixth instance of an Ole Miss team reaching the +60 mark and only the second time in history that the Rebels have achieved the feat twice in the same year. Previously, Ole Miss defeated Arkansas Pine-Bluff by 61 points in the Rebels' first victory this season. The last time an Ole Miss squad has secured two 60-point margins wins in a year was the 1982-83 season.
ALL-TOURNAMENT REBS
KK Deans and Kennedy Todd-Williams were two of five student-athletes selected to the 2024 Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship All-Tournament team.
Combining for a team-high 32 points over the two games, Deans had a pair of standout performances in her first games back in the Bahamas since her season-ending injury last season in the Battle4Atlantis.
Against UConn, the graduate student boasted 17 points, including 12 in the third quarter to propel the Rebels within five points of the lead after being down 19 at the half. In the matchup versus Boston College, Deans tallied 15 points and was a perfect 6-6 from the charity line.
Todd-Williams tallied 13 points against UConn and had the best shooting night of her Ole Miss career, going 4-4 from beyond the arc, tying a career high in three-pointers in the process. Versus Boston College, Todd-Williams led the field with a season-high 17 points and five assists.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
True freshman guard Sira Thienou has wasted little time making her mark as an Ole Miss Rebel. The Bamako, Mali, native was tabbed SEC Co-Freshman of the Week on Tuesday, Nov. 26, the first such honor of her young career and the first award of its type for an Ole Miss player since Madison Scott earned the same accolade six times as a true freshman during the 2020-21 season.
Thienou scored in double figures in three straight outings for the Rebels in November, including consecutive 16-point outbursts against Jackson State (Nov. 18) and Boston College (Nov. 25). The last true freshman to record double-digit scoring efforts in three straight games was Scott herself who did it twice during her first season in Oxford.
Additionally, the last time an Ole Miss freshman had a 16-plus point performance was when Scott earned 17 against No. 18 Arkansas, on Feb. 19, 2021.
HOME SWEET HOME
Rebel nation has turned the SJB Pavilion into an intimidating environment for visiting teams, especially in the non-conference slate.
Ole Miss has won 27 of its last 30 games at home against non-conference opponents, dating back to the 2020 season.
STAY CONNECTED WITH THE REBELS
New season and single-game tickets for the 2024-25 Ole Miss basketball season are on sale now. To purchase or learn more about buying season or single-game tickets for women's basketball, click here or contact the Ole Miss Athletics ticket office.
Follow the Rebels on X at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole MissWBB. You can also follow head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on X at @YolettMcCuin.
Players Mentioned
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