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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
6-2, 0-0
Western Kentucky
7-2, 0-0
Rebels Fall in Road Contest at Western Kentucky
12/4/2014 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2014
Boxscore
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Ole Miss dropped a 98-69 non-conference matchup to Western Kentucky on Thursday night at WKU's EA Diddle Arena. Freshman Kiara Golden (Olive Branch, Miss.) led Ole Miss (6-2) with a career-high 19 points becoming the third freshman to lead Ole Miss in scoring this season.
Shequila Joseph (London, England) was also in double figures with 13 points - her first game in double figures this season, while Tia Faleru (Ozark, Ala.) added a team-best eight rebounds in the loss.
It was a tough shooting night for the Rebels who shot just 24.3 percent in the first frame. Ole Miss shot much better in the second frame, shooting 43.9 (18-of-41) percent, but they couldn't over some Western Kentucky's hot shooting as the home team shot 56.6 (30-of-53) percent for the contest. One of the bright spots was the play of the Ole Miss freshman. In addition to Golden's team-high 19 points, Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia. Miss.) added nine points, while Kelsey Briggs tallied four points and three rebounds.
The Rebels tired to dial up the press in the second half to force the Lady Hilltoppers into turnovers which they could then turn into points, but each time they forced a turnover they had trouble stopping scoring on the other end. Point in the paint were huge for both teams as they combined for 84 points in the paint, but Western owned the transition game, scoring 24 fast break points to just eight for Ole Miss.
Alexis Govan's game-high 22 points lead Western Kentucky, while Micah Jones and Kendall Noble each added 20 points. Chastity Gooch and Tashia Brown were also in double figures with 17 and 13 points, respectively.
Western Kentucky jumped out to a 11-6 lead behind five early points from Govan at the first media timeout and the home team kept the pedal on the gas, using a 24-2 run over a span of 7:30 to take a 33-8 lead a the 8:28 mark. The Rebels couldn't get anything going offensively and turned the ball over seven times leading to 10 Western Kentucky points.
Golden provided a much needed spark of the bench late in the half, with four straight points, including Ole Miss' first field goal in four minutes, allowing the Rebels to set up the press to try and get themselves back in the game. Joseph also drilled a timely 3-point field goal as Ole Miss dug in on defense to get back in the game.
The Rebels couldn't buy a bucket in the first half shooting 24.0 percent (9-of-37), while the home team couldn't miss, shooting a blistering 58 percent 15-of-26) while pulling down 26 rebound. The Ole Miss bench sparked the squad in the first half with 15 points led by Golden's nine. The Lady Hilltoppers 48 first-half points were the most Ole Miss has allowed this season.
Ole Miss returns to the friendly confines of Tad Smith Coliseum for a non-conference matchup with No. 11 Baylor on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be available on SECN+ and on the WatchESPN app. Sunday's game will be the second annual church game and if you bring your church bulletin you will receive free admission. Also, if you visit any of Ole Miss' corporate sponsors you can get free tickets for the game. For a listing of corporate sponsors click HERE.
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: Tonight's meeting was the eighth meeting between the teams Western Kentucky leads the series, 5-3 … Current Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork came to Oxford after serving for two years in the same position at Western Kentucky (2010-12) … The win moves Ole Miss to 0-2 against teams from C-USA this season and 56-27 all-time against C-USA opponents … Western's 98 points are the most points allowed by Ole Miss this season.
