.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
9-5, 1-0
Vanderbilt
11-3, 0-1
Rebels Win Thriller to Open SEC Play
1/3/2016 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2016
Boxscore | Photo Gallery | Press Conference
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's basketball team sent Tad Smith Coliseum out in style with a come-from-behind, 55-52, win over Vanderbilt to move to 9-5, 1-0 SEC on Sunday afternoon. Oxford native Erika Sisk sealed the Ole Miss victory with an old-fashioned three-point play with two seconds remaining in regulation. The win also gave the Rebels their second consecutive SEC-opening win for the first time since winning back-to-back openers in 2002 and 2003.
Trailing by four points with 1:40 left in the contest, Ole Miss used a pair of free throws from Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) to make it a one-point game and a pair from Shequila Joseph (London, England) tied the game with three seconds on the clock before Sisk put her head down and drove to the basket for the game-winner. Ole Miss outscored the Commodores 23-12 in the fourth quarter and snapped their 10-game winning streak.
For the third straight game, Sisk was in double figures with a team-best 18 points, while Sessom tallied her 15th straight game of double figures with 12 points, while Joseph added 12 points. Sessom was the Rebels leading rebounder with seven boards, while Joseph added six rebounds.
Tailing by nine out of halftime, Ole Miss opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run to make it a one point, 31-30 Vanderbilt lead midway through the quarter led by six points from Oxford native, Sisk, who reached double figures for the third straight game in the third quarter. Ole Miss had trouble stopping the Commodores in transition and entered the fourth trailing, 40-32.
The game was close from the outset, as neither team was able to take more than a one possession early but a 9-0 run coupled by a 2:40 scoreless drought from the Rebels helped Vanderbilt jump out to a 11-4 lead at the first media timeout of the game. After being down by as many as eight points, Ole Miss picked up the pressure on the defensive end and used baskets from Bretta Hart (Poplarville, Miss.) and Alissa Alston (New Haven, Conn.) to cut the lead in half at the 1:10 mark, but a pair of free throws from Vanderbilt's Dahlman gave the visitors the lead at the end of one quarter.
With the Rebels trailing, 21-14 with 5:54 left in the second quarter, back-to-back buckets from Hart, sparked by a steal from Sisk cut the lead to just one possession with 4:07 left tin the first half. Ole Miss cut the lead to three-points but the Commodores closed the half on a 6-0 run to take a 29-20 lead at the break. Hart was a huge spark of the bench and followed her 20-point outing against Alabama A&M with nine points and was 4-of-5 from the field.
From The Head Coach
On the win...
"I've been coaching in this league now for nine seasons, and I've been a part of a lot of unbelievable wins. I've beaten Tennessee at the buzzer, Kentucky and LSU. I don't know if I've ever been a part of a win like that."
On the final moments…
"I told them in the huddle if they just keep guarding we'll make a shot or two to get it going. They just kept guarding forcing them into 26 turnovers in the game, and that was the difference. Shequila Joseph steps out there and buries two huge threes and Erika Sisk keeps driving it in there. It's just an unbelievable win for us."
On the final play…
"I told Erika (Sisk) on the last play, if they back up, run over somebody. Go run over somebody, because if they call an offensive foul they aren't shooting so it doesn't matter. She did that and got and-one, and it was an unbelievable play from that kid. I'm so proud of her. She had about a thousand people here watching, but that's what Oxford is supposed to do. When you have one of your own at home, you're supposed to come out. That's just an unbelievable play from her."
On the ending...
"We were down two with 39 seconds to play, and I just told them to guard and get a stop. I told them if we needed to come down and execute offensively. We didn't have a good day for offensive rebounds, but the biggest one of the day Shequila (Joseph) gets in there and gets fouled. That was huge, because Vanderbilt did a good job keeping us off the offensive glass. That's how games are, doesn't matter how you do it, you just have to win it."
Rebel Sidelines
-Today's game was the final game at Tad Smith Coliseum. The Rebels will move into the Pavilion at Ole Miss on Jan. 10 with a televised game against Florida. Ole Miss has called the "Tad Pad" home for 42 seasons and has won 410 games here.
-The win was the first come-from-behind win this season for the Rebels and the first in the Matt Insell era.
-The series between the Rebels and Commodores moves to 29-16 in favor of Vanderbilt, but today's win snaps a six-game winning streak for Vanderbilt and gives Ole Miss it's first win over the Commodores since 2011 season, a win that also came in Oxford.
-Vanderbilt assistant coach Kim Rosemond played collegiate basketball at Ole Miss from 1995-98 and also served as an assistant coach after graduation.
-Ole Miss picks up its second consecutive win in an SEC opener, marking the first time since winning the 2002 and 2003 SEC openers that Ole Miss has won openers in consecutive seasons.
-Today's game closed a five-game homestand for the Rebels and moved Ole Miss to 4-1 over that span, the lone loss coming to Tulane on Dec. 16.
-Shandricka Sessom extended her double-figure scoring streak to 15 straight games with 12 points. Sessom is leading the Rebels and the SEC with 18.3 ppg.
-Erika Sisk has now been in double figures in each of the last three games and is averaging 20.0 points over the last three games.
-Ole Miss started the same lineup that it used for the last four games with Erika Sisk, Shequila Joseph, Shandricka Sessom, Torri Lewis and A'Queen Hayes. The five moved to 4-1 with the win.
Up Next
The Rebels will hit the road for the first time in nearly a month with a trip to Baton Rouge to take on LSU on Thursday, Jan. 7. The game will be a part of the full slate of women's basketball games on SEC Network and fans can watch the game live on SEC Network beginning at 7:30 pm with Paul Sunderland and Carolyn Peck on the call.
Next Five Games
1/7/16 - at LSU 7:30 p.m. SEC Network
1/10/16 - vs. Florida* 1 p.m. SEC Network
1/14/16 -at Texas A&M 7 p.m.
1/18/16 - at Mississippi State 6 p.m. SEC Network
1/21/16 - vs. Kentucky$ 8 p.m. SEC Network
*Pavilion Grand opening weekend
$We Back Pat Game
Keep Up With the Rebels
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 MissWBB. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women's basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell. Additionally fans can get a behind the scenes look at Ole Miss Athletics on Snapchat under the handle, @WeAreOleMiss.
