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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
13-5 (2-3SEC)
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Mississippi State
19-0 (5-0SEC)
Rebels Fall to No. 4 Mississippi State
1/16/2017 | Women's Basketball
Box Score 
STARKVILLE, Miss. -Ole Miss battled back to make it interesting late in the fourth quarter but couldn't get over the hump as they dropped a 73-62 contest to the No. 4-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs on Monday night.
Trailing by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss used a 10-4 spurt sparked by a three-point play from and a triple from Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) to get the lead to 15 points. The Rebels came as close as 10 points with 2:10 remaining but couldn't overcome a cold start to steal the win in Starkville.
Sessom led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds for her 14th game in double figures, while Alissa Alston (New Haven, Conn.) added 14 points for her third game in double figures and second against an SEC foe. Ole Miss shot held a 34-24 advantage in the paint and the Rebels bench outscored their counterparts, 26-6.
Ole Miss started the third quarter with the ball and came out and got a great look at a triple and a bucket inside but couldn't get anything to fall. The home team ran its lead up to 46-31 at the third-quarter media timeout. The Rebels had their most consistent success in transition with Alston leading the break, which led to points in the paint for the Rebels. Ole Miss held the Bulldogs at bay for the most part and got close with a 8-0 run, but Victoria Vivians hit back-to-back big shots to spark a 6-0 State run late in the quarter as they took a 52-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
It was a fast start to the game as Mississippi State got on the board just 15 seconds in with a bucket from Morgan Williams, but Ole Miss responded with a bucket from Sessom and the teams started to battle on the defensive end. The Bulldogs used a 6-0 run over a span of 1:30 to pull ahead, 12-4 at the first media timeout. Ole Miss struggled in the first quarter with 10 turnovers, which led to seven Mississippi State points and a 22-8 State lead at the end of one quarter of play.
Alston provided a spark off the bench in the first half, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. She added five points in the first half and was in on just about every defensive stop. Finding themselves trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half, the Rebels rattled off six straight points over the final 1:06 of play to cut the MSU lead to 36-25 at the halftime break. Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss.) scored four of those six points during the run, while Sessom added a pair of free throws at the end of the half. After being outscored 22-8 in the first quarter, Ole Miss held a 17-14 advantage in the second frame.
Fom The Head Coach
On the game ...
"We found a way to keep fighting in a hostile environment and I don't believe in moral victories at all but I came down here with a good basketball team and I'm leaving with a good team. We'll fix what hapened in the first quarter. We had three great possessions to start the third quarter, we had a layup a wide open three, we got a stop and we turned it over and those are little plays that hurt you in the long run. We'll fix those. We're in a tough stretch. Here today against Mississippi State and go to South Carolina on Thursday. If those teams beat you it doesn't mean you are a bad team. I think we showed we can play with anyone in the country. We got back in their late but we didn't play our best. Our bunch battled and we'll continue to get better and improve. I'm proud of them."
On Alissa Alston ...
"She's a game player, she's from near the concrete jungle and when you come from that way you have a sense of toughness about you and Alissa Alston has toughness. Right away went in an buried a shot, pumped her fist and was excited. She's a great player, she played 28 minutes and she has that toughness about her. She's young and still growing and was playing against a gurad that I think is the best point guard in our league. I think Morgan Williams is really good and experienced."
Rebel Sidelines
-Today's game against MSU was the third of four straight against teams ranked in the top 20 of the NCAA's RPI (at Auburn, Tennessee, at Mississippi State, at South Carolina).
-The all-time series between Ole Miss and Mississippi State moves to 62-29
-Today's game is the first of two consecutive road games against AP-ranked top five opponents for the Rebels. Ole Miss last defeated an AP-ranked top-five team in 1987.
-For the second consecutive game, Ole Miss was held to single digits in the first half with just eight points in the fist quarter.
-Alston was in double figures for the second time in the last three games, and her 14 points tied her season-high.
-Sessom was a rebound shy of a double-double.
Up Next
The Rebels stay on the road for their second consecutive matchup with a top-five opponent as they travel to Columbia, S.C. to take on the No. 5 Gamecocks. Game time is set for 6 PM CT on the SEC Network with Debbie Antonelli and Courtney Lyle on the call.
Next Five Games
Jan. 19 - at South Carolina 6 PM
Jan. 22 - vs. Alabama 2 PM
Jan. 26 - at Kentucky 6 PM
Jan. 29 - vs. Georgia 2 PM
Feb. 6 - at Florida 6 PM
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 on Instagram at Ole MissWBB and on Snapchat with the handle @OleMissWBB. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women's basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell.
