.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Christian Brothers (Ex.)
Ole Miss Cruises in Exhibition Victory over Christian Brothers
11/7/2014 | Women's Basketball
Beyond The Boxscore |Boxscore |Quotes | Photo Gallery
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's basketball team used 25 points from freshman Toree Thompson (Broken Arrow, Okla.) and eight rebounds from Kelsey Briggs (Memphis, Tenn.) to cruise to a 111-43 win over Christian Brothers in exhibition action at Tad Smith Coliseum on Friday night.
Thompson started her collegiate career with a bang, scoring a game-high 25 points to go along with nine assists, just one shy of her first collegiate double-double. Thompson led four Rebels in double figures and was joined by Tia Faleru (Ozark, Ala.) with 14 points, Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss.) with 13 points and Briggs with 12 points off the bench.
"Obviously I am glad to see us come out and play that well. We have a young basketball team and I just told them after the game that we have a long way to go to get to where we need to be. But, this is a good step for us as we grow as a team," said Ole Miss head coach Matt Insell. "I asked them to come out and play with a lot of focus for forty minutes. I feel as though they did that."
Ole Miss had a 26-point lead to open the second half and doubled that with a little over five minutes left to play en route to their second consecutive exhibition win in the Matt Insell era.
Shequila Joseph (London, England) got the second stanza started with a bang, drilling a triple on the first possession of the half as the home team cruised to victory.
Both squads started slowly but the Rebels jumped out to a 9-0 lead on the strength of back-to-back triples from Oxford native Sisk. Ole Miss ran the floor well to start forcing the visitors into 24 turnovers -- including 14 in the second half.
"Christian Brothers played really well against us last year and they had a couple of those players back that gave us a lot of trouble," said Insell. "Coming out and being control of the game from the tip is what we need to be able to do with our pressure defense. We looked more like I want us to look defensively tonight. We still have a lot of room to grow and we will continue to do so. When you have a young team you know every day is a new day. We will enjoy this one, get into practice on Sunday and be ready to go again."
Christian Brothers scored their first bucket nearly five minutes into the half on a basket from Madisen Luckett, but the Rebels defensive pressure really took the Lady Bucs out of rhythm offensively, as they shot just 30 percent from the field.
Ole Miss' new look backcourt of Thompson and Sisk certainly didn't disappoint in their first outing, combining for 28 of Ole Miss' 51 first half points. Thompson led the way with a game-high 18 points in the first half en route to a 25-point night
On the rebounding front, Faleru and Briggs teamed with Bretta Hart (Poplarville, Miss.) for 22 of the Rebels 53 rebounds. Ole Miss was impressive on the offensive glass in the contest with 18 offensive boards.
Ole Miss opens the 2014-15 campaign in earnest on Nov. 14 when they host Grambling in the 12th annual School Kids Game. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. at the Tad Smith Coliseum. 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
Three newcomers were in the lineup for the first time tonight as Erika Sisk, Shandricka Sessom and Toree Thompson earned starts tonight … Each of Ole Miss' 13 players eligible to play saw time in tonight's exhibition with all 13 players recording points … Each of Ole Miss' freshman scored points in tonight's contest … Ole Miss topped the century mark for the first time in the Insell era.
