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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
13-7, 2-5SEC
Alabama
15-5, 3-4SEC
Ole Miss Suffers First Home Setback of Season
1/22/2017 | Women's Basketball
Box Score
| Photo Gallery | Press Conference
OXFORD, Miss - The Ole Miss women's basketball team (13-7, 2-5 SEC) got as close as one possession in the final two minutes but couldn't complete the comeback dropping a 65-57 contest to Alabama on Sunday afternoon at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. The loss snapped a 12-game home win streak for the Rebels.
Madinah Muhammad (Chicago, Ill.) led the offense with 18 points while Taylor Manuel (St. Louis, Mo.) tallied her second consecutive game in double figures with 13 points. Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) added 11 points and a team-best six rebounds.
Ole Miss used a 5-0 run to open the fourth quarter sparked by a putback from Manuel and a triple from Muhammad to take a 48-44 lead and forced the visitors to take a timeout less than a minute into the fourth quarter. Alabama (15-5-3-4 SEC) fought back though and held a 57-55 lead with 2:19 remaining before going on an 8-2 run over the final minutes to earn the win. The Rebels struggled from the floor for the second consecutive game, shooting just 35.6 percent (21-of-59).
Out halftime, Ole Miss started with the ball and Muhammad promptly nailed a jumper to spark a 6-0 spurt, which tied the game at 25-25 forcing the Crimson Tide to call a timeout at the 7:42 mark. From that point the teams traded buckets, but Alabama was able to keep the lead until the 2:54 mark when Manuel converted an old fashioned three-point play to give Ole Miss a 41-39 lead at the 2:46 mark - the first lead for Ole Miss since the 7:09 mark of the first quarter.
The third quarter was close throughout with neither team taking more than a four-point lead throughout, but it was the visitors with a 44-43 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Alabama jumped out to a 8-4 lead behind two big threes from Hannah Cook forcing Insell to call a timeout to help the Rebels regroup and the home team was able to get a little momentum from Muhammad who hit a triple, but Ole Miss trailed 17-9 a the end of the first quarter.
Alabama extend its lead to 10 points, 21-11 at the 7:59 mark, but Ole Miss used some defense and a bucket from Cecilia Muhate (Madrid, Spain) to get the lead back to single digits midway through the quarter. Ole Miss' renewed energy on the defensive end forced the visitors into nine turnovers in the second quarter as Ole Miss was able to cut the Alabama lead to two possessions, 25-19, at halftime.
From The Head Coach
On the game...
"Obviously, it was not the result we wanted. Credit to Alabama. They made plays when they had to make plays. I'll give them all the credit in the world. Kristy Curry's team was tougher than our team. We continued to miss layups at the rim, we continued to have complete weak-side help and other defensive issues. Those things will beat you in a big game. Jordan Lewis, their freshman point guard, beat us every way she could beat us. She was the difference in the basketball game."
On what Alabama did successfully...
"They put their head down and drove the ball to the rim, and we didn't have any toughness on stopping it. We got them out of everything they were doing offensively, but we were not very tough. Madinah Muhammad showed a lot of toughness, Taylor Manuel showed a lot of toughness, but we lacked toughness in so many areas. Was proud of Cecilia Muhate, playing a season-high in minutes in SEC play. She played well there. But they just put their head down and said, `I'm going to beat you one-on-one, and that's what they did."
Rebel Sidelines
-Ole Miss dropped its first home game of the season tonight - a span of 12 games. The 12-game home win streak was the longest in the Insell era.
- For the second time in the last three games, Ole Miss was held to single digits in the first quarter with 9 points.
-Madinah Muhammad was in double figures for the ninth time this season with 18 points.
-Shandricka Sessom posted her fourth straight game in double figures - and the 16th time this season with 11 points.
-Taylor Manuel's 13 points marked her second straight game in double figures.
-Cecilia Muhate's six points ties her season-high - a mark she last hit against Southeastern Louisiana. Her six points are a season-high in SEC play.
Up Next
Ole Miss is back on the road to take on Kentucky on Thursday in Lexington. Tipoff is set for 6 PM CT. The game will be available on SEC Network+
Next Five Games
Jan. 26 - at Kentucky 6 PM
Jan. 29 - vs. Georgia 2 PM
Feb. 6 - at Florida 6 PM
Feb. 9 - vs. LSU 6 PM
Feb. 12 - vs. Mississippi State 3 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.
FULL RECAP TO COME.
