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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
14-10, 4-7SEC
Tennessee
21-3, 11-0SEC
Ole Miss Falls To Tennessee
2/12/2015 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. - Playing its fifth ranked opponent in seven games, Ole Miss fell 67-45 to No. 6/No. 6 Tennessee on Thursday night at Tad Smith Coliseum. After a 4-1 start in Southeastern Conference play, the Rebels (14-10, 4-7 SEC) have now lost six in a row.
Tennessee (21-3, 11-0 SEC) led wire-to-wire, pushing the lead to double-digits late in the first half and leading by double-digits the rest of the way.
"We did not give very good effort," head coach Matt Insell said. "To beat a good team like Tennessee, your effort and energy have to be right. Their effort and energy was right. Obviously Holly (Warlick) challenged them this week in practice because of their consistency. I did the same with our bunch because of our consistency.
"We blew a 16-point lead Thursday against Vanderbilt, and then we come back and to not have any effort and energy, and to not get it out of some of your leaders, that's something we'll have to address in practice."
Isabelle Harrison paced the Lady Vols with game highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds. Defensively, Tennessee held Ole Miss to 30 percent (17-of-57) shooting. Led by Harrison, the Lady Vols dominated in the paint, winning the rebounding battle 46-29 and outscoring the Rebels 48-24 in the paint.
Freshman guard Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) and junior guard Gracie Frizzell (Little Rock, Ark.) led the Rebels with nine points each. Frizzell was a bright spot, knocking down each of her 3-point attempts in the game. Senior forward Danielle McCray (West Palm Beach, Fla.) added eight points and five rebounds, followed by sophomore guard Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss.) with seven points and five assists.
Senior forward Tia Faleru saw her 99-game scoring streak snapped, as she was held scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting in 17 minutes of game action.
"We didn't come to play," Frizzell said. "We have had better games obviously. We have to start practicing with higher intensity. Clearly, that's a reflection of how we play."
Ole Miss remained close early, before Tennessee finished the first half on a 20-6 run over the last 13:49 to take a 34-17 lead into halftime. Harrison recorded a double-double in the first half alone, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Defensively, the Lady Vols limited the Rebels to just 23 percent shooting and a season low for first-half points, including an 8:02 scoring drought.
"We got to stop settling for long shots," Insell said. "We're not a long-shot team. We're a team that drives to the rim and gets baskets at the rim. I knew Tennessee was bigger, the same way South Carolina was bigger, but we drove it in there on them and had a lot of pop and got to the rim on them. Tonight, we stood out there and settled for long shots."
Tennessee pushed the lead to the 25, its largest lead of the game, on two occasions in the second half, the latest being 60-35 with 9:28 left in the game. Ole Miss answered with a 9-2 run to within 18, 62-44, with 5:06 left, but that was as close as the Rebels would get the rest of the way.
The Rebels hit the road for a two-game road swing, starting with Missouri on Sunday (2 p.m. CT, SEC Network), followed by Auburn next Thursday (8 p.m. CT, Fox Sports Net), before returning home to host No. 10/No. 10 Kentucky on Monday, Feb. 23.
"We have to figure out a way to bounce back," Insell said. "Like I told the team after the game, we have Missouri on Sunday. We have to flush this one and move on because we have to get that one."
REBEL SIDELINES: Ole Miss has dropped its last six contests, which is the longest losing streak since a nine-game stretch last season… Ole Miss has played five ranked opponents in its last seven games, posting a 1-4 record over those five games… Ole Miss did not have a player score in double figures for the first time since Dec. 7, 2014 against Baylor… Tia Faleru saw her 99-game scoring streak snapped, dating back to Dec. 1, 2012 against Louisiana Tech… Ole Miss moves to 5-10 when they fail to reach 70 points… Ole Miss remains one win away from its 400th win at Tad Smith Coliseum, moving to 11-5 on their home court this season.
