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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
10-18, 2-13SEC
South Carolina
27-1, 15-0SEC
No. 3 South Carolina Outlasts Ole Miss
2/25/2016 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's basketball team (10-18 2-13 SEC) kept the game close for two quarters with the No. 3-ranked Gamecocks but South Carolina proved too much in the second half and remained undefeated in SEC action at 15-0 with a 66-45 win over the Rebels on Thursday night.
Freshman Madinah Muhammad (Chicago, Ill.) posted her 10th game in double figures with a team-best 20 points while Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) was also in double figures with 13 points to lead the Ole Miss offense. Bretta Hart (Poplarville, Miss) and A'Queen Hayes (Horn Lake, Miss.) led the way on the glass with eight and six rebounds, respectively.
After scoring just five points in the second quarter and trailing 34-19 at the break, Sessom came in during the second quarter and drilled back-to-back triples after going scoreless in the first half and Ole Miss was able to get the South Carolina lead to seven points with 6:36 remaining in the third frame. The Rebels hung around and kept the lead to under 10 until early in the fourth quarter when Ole Miss allowed the Gamecocks to score six unanswered to get the lead to 18 points - the largest of the game at that point - before closing the game on a 15-6 run to earn the win.
The first quarter was characterized by sloppy play on both ends as both teams combined for 13 turnovers in the first five minutes of play and were deadlocked at 7-7 at the first media timeout. The Gamecocks jumped out to a five-point lead but Muhammad kept the Rebels in the game with timely shooting late in the shot clock en route to 12 first-quarter points for her 10th game in double figures.
South Carolina led by four after the first quarter but Muhammad opened the second quarter with a triple - her second of the night - to keep the Rebels within striking distance. South Carolina jumped out to an 11-point lead in the second quarter and kept the Rebels off the board for nearly four minutes before a bucket from Hayes ended the drought but the nationally-ranked Gamecocks took a 34-19 lead into halftime.
From the Head Coach
On Madinah Muhammad…
"She continues to grow. She's a young freshman who had Tiffany Mitchell guarding her. Mitchells a two-time SEC player of the year and she still came out and attacked her. Madinah is just getting better, and her best basketball is ahead of her. That's the thing that's exciting, because if you look at it next year with Madinah and Shandricka on the floor together as wing players - you have two scoring players out there. The problem scoring will be fixed because then you'll have three of the best scoring guards in the league together. Madinah showed you what she could do out there."
On missing shots...
"The devastating blows come when you miss layups. Whether it's a post player or a guard missing layups, whoever it is, when you work hard and get the ball and miss it not only do you miss the layup but also you get out of transition defense assignments. Now they go on transition, and they scored six points during the second quarter in transition that gave them separation. We had plenty of opportunities, but you aren't beating any team in the country shooting 20% from the field."
On forcing 29 turnovers…
"Well, we had 23. We did a great job defensively and we are playing good enough there to beat anybody in this league. We just have to start making shots and getting better offensively. I go back to the summer, I was sitting there telling them they need to get in the gym extra because when the season starts you can't make up what you're losing in the months of May through September. Young kids sometimes don't listen, but I told them just now that it's hitting them square in the face. We don't make open shots. Madinah Muhammad gets in the gym and you saw it tonight, she played with confidence. Shandricka gets in the gym, and she plays with confidence. They're growing up. Queen had seven turnovers tonight, but she's going to be all right because that's not characteristic of her. She had every shot she wanted at the 15 foot area in the first half and those are shots that she just has to make. Those are shot's she's made before."
On the Arkansas game and the future…
"It's not South Carolina, it's not A&M but it's still an SEC team who's good at home. We'll have to play really well. They got pounded tonight on the road and we're going to have to play well. Here's what I'll tell you - I'm going to fix this shooting thing. We're going to fix that in recruiting and we're not going to be sitting here at this time next year at 2-13. This is going to be a hard place to play for opposing teams and we are going to win games. I want Rebel Nation to know that I'm going to fix the problems. I'm going to fix it. I'm going to get on the recruiting trail and add another player or two to what already have coming in and we are going to fix this."
Rebel Sidelines
-Today's game is the second matchup between the Gamecocks this year with the Gamecocks wining both games. The Gamecocks lead the all-time series, 20-17 with Ole Miss dropping its last seven games to the Gamecocks
-Today's game marked the final home game of the season for the Rebels. Ole Miss finishes with a home record of 8-9 between games at The Pavilion and Tad Smith Coliseum.
-Shandricka Sessom posted her 23rd game in double figures and her fourth straight game with her 13 points.
-Madinah Muhammad has reached double figures for the 10th time this season with20 points. Muhammad was in double figures by the end of the first quarter, scoring 12 points
-With her 20 points, Madinah Muhammad scored 20 points for the second time in her career. She posted a career high 21 points against Texas A&M on Jan. 14.
Up Next
The Rebels will close out the 2015-16 regular season on Sunday against Arkansas in Fayetteville. Tipoff is set for 3:00 pm and will air nationally on SEC Network with Brenda VanLengen and Candace Parker on the call. Fans in the Oxford, Lafayette area can hear Graham Doty and Armintie Herrington on the call on 105.1/105.5 in Oxford/Batesville and on OleMissSports.com
Upcoming Games
2/28/16- at Arkansas 3 p.m. SEC Network
3/2-6/16- at SEC Tournament TBA SEC Network
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.
