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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Mississippi Valley State
Ole Miss Defeats MVSU, 91-38
11/16/2014 | Women's Basketball
Quotes | Boxscore | Photo Gallery | Beyond The Blog
Press Conference (Matt Insell and Tia Faleru)
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's basketball team picked up its second win of the 2014-15 season with a 91-38 win over Mississippi Valley State. Senior forward Tia Faleru (Ozark, Ala.) scored her 1,000th career point as the Rebels moved to 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
Faleru entered the game needing just 18 points to join the 1,000-point club and at the 9:13 mark of the second half, the Ozark Alabama native joined the club with a pair of free throws. She becomes Ole Miss' 26th 1,000-point scorer and the first since former Rebel great Valencia McFarland topped the mark during her junior season in 2012-13.
"During the game I was just focused on playing," said Faleru. "I was not looking to see how many points I had. I usually do not know how many points or rebounds I have until after the game, but it was a great feeling. I never thought that I would come to college and be the person and player I am today. Hard work will get you there."
The Rebels cruised in their second game of the season and trailed for just 30 seconds in the contest. Ole Miss jumped out to a 25-point lead in the first half and never looked back en route to their 10th straight win over Mississippi Valley.
"I am very pleased," said head coach Matt Insell. "I thought we played a lot better defensively today. We played with a lot more intensity and a lot more hustle. We still have a long way to go defensively, but we are getting better. I told the team. It all starts with the hustle on the defensive end. We are going to give some layups up from time to time. Our fans need to know that and get ready for that because of the craziness that we are going to play. We are going to try to force turnovers to give us more possessions. Obviously we did that today pretty well. I am real happy with how we played and the growth of this team. We still have a long way to go but we're going to keep getting better."
Freshman Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) led all scorers with 21 points, becoming the first Ole Miss freshman to score 20 points this season. Faleru and Kelsey Briggs (Memphis, Tenn.) joined her in double figures with 19 and 12 points, respectively. Sessom led Ole Miss on the boards with a game-high nine rebounds, just one shy of her first career double-double.
The Rebels got after it on the defensive end, forcing Mississippi Valley into a whopping 46 turnovers. The 46 turnovers mark the first time since the 2006-07 season that Ole Miss has forced 40 or more in a single game. Ole Miss made the turnovers count scoring 51 points off of Mississippi Valley miscues
Insell has challenged the Rebels on the defensive front and it showed in today's game as Ole Miss held the Lady Devilettes to just 38 points, the fewest points for an Ole Miss opponent since the 2009-10 season when Centenary also scored just 38 points.
It as a slow start for both teams, as they both seemed to have heavy legs as both played on just one day's rest after opening the season on Friday. It was the Rebels who pulled ahead first spearheaded by a triple from Gracie Frizzell (Little Rock, Ark.), which sparked a 6-0 run, forcing the visitors to call a timeout as Ole Miss pulled ahead 17-8.
Sessom provided the Rebels a much needed lift and after being held to just two points in the season-opener on Friday, she had 13 first half points and helped the home team jump out to a 22-10 midway through the half.
Ole Miss had a distinct advantage on the defensive end holding Mississippi Valley to 1-of-13 shooting form the floor in the opening minutes by limiting the second chance opportunities and getting their hands on just about every ball that came through the lane. The Rebels were able to capitalize on their advantage in the paint, outscoring the Lady Devillettes, 22-8 in the paint in the first half and 46-20 for the contest.
The Rebels held the visitors without a bucket for nearly six minutes as they took a 27-14 lead and took a 45-20 lead into halftime.
The Ole Miss women's basketball team is back in action on Thursday when they welcome Southern University to Tad Smith Coliseum. The Rebels and Tigers will tip off at 5:00 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with the Ole Miss men's team who will take on the Southern men's team.
For ticket information, go to OleMissTix.com or call the Ole Miss Ticket Office at 1-888-REB-TKTS (732-8587). Keep up to date with the Ole Miss women's basketball team throughout the season on social media. For all Ole Miss women's basketball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole Miss_WBB. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women's basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell.
REBEL SIDELINES
Tia Faleru became the 26th 1,000-point scorer in Ole Miss women's basketball history at the 9:13 mark of the second half ... Ole Miss used its second lineup of the season, with Danielle McCray earning the start in place of Shequila Joseph ... Shequila Joseph came off the bench for the first time in her collegiate career ... Ole Miss moved to 15-2 all-time against Mississippi Valley and has won the last 10 meeting between the teams ... Mississippi Valley was the second of three straight teams from the SWAC Ole Miss will face to open the season .. Ole Miss' 46 turnovers are the most the Rebels have forced since the 2006-07 season.
