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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
15-10, 4-8SEC
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Mississippi State
25-1, 11-1SEC
Ole Miss Falls Short vs. No. 4 Mississippi State
2/12/2017 | Women's Basketball
Boxscore 
| Photo Gallery | Press Conference
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's basketball team couldn't get anything going on the offensive end and dropped a 66-44 contest to No. 4 Mississippi State on Sunday at The Pavilion at Ole Miss in the annual Tickled Pink at The Pavilion game.
Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss.) led the offense with 14 points for her fist game in double figures in SEC action. The Oxford native was joined in double figures by teammates Madinah Muhammad (Chicago, Ill.) and Taylor Manuel (St. Louis, Mo.) who added 10 points each. Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) added a team-best nine rebounds.
For the second straight game, Ole Miss (15-10, 4-8 SEC) struggled from the floor, shooting just 29.6 percent (16-of-54) while Mississippi State leaned on sophomore Teaira McCowan who had 17 points and 18 rebounds off the bench on a night when Victoria Vivians didn't play her best game.
The Rebels opened the third quarter with a three-point play from Muhammad to give the them a lift early but the score never got any closer than 17 points the remainder of the game. The second quarter decided the game as Ole Miss shot a mere 10 percent on 1-of-10 shooting with only four points, while the visitors scored 24 points to take a large halftime lead.
Out of the second quarter break, the teams traded three-point buckets with Shequila Joseph (London, England) tallying her third straight game with a triple, after going eight straight games without a triple. Ole Miss struggled to find any offense, scoring just three points in the first five minutes and couldn't stop the Bulldogs who held a 26-17 lead at the second quarter media timeout with six unanswered points en route to a 41-18 halftime lead.
Mississippi State scored the first basket of the game but Ole Miss responded with baskets of their own from Manuel and Sisk to keep the game within a possession though the first four minutes of the first quarter. Both teams really struggled to score to start the game with both teams shooting under 25 percent through the first five minutes of action.
Out of the media timeout, the Rebels picked up four straight points to tied the game at eight points while keeping Mississippi State without a bucket for over three minutes but it was the Bulldogs who used a 9-0 run to take a 15-8 lead. Ole Miss roared back a the end of the quarter to cut the lead to 17-14, at the end of the quarter
From The Head Coach
On the game...
"Saw (energy and effort) in the first quarter, and then we just kind of wilted there. They played so much harder than us. We came out and hit early and got going a little bit there. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how much harder you play, if you go 16-of-54 from the field, you're not going to win any games. We shot 29 percent from the field. We have players who we want to get shots, and they just don't make them. They've made them this year, maybe they'll make them as we move forward, but it's just two games in a row where we just haven't made shots."
On the positives he saw...
"I thought Taylor Manuel played pretty well. Erika Sisk had some fight in her. Madinah Muhammad had some fight in her. Kate Rodgers came in the fourth quarter. Every time I give her minutes, she plays well, so I need to give her more minutes. Shequila Joseph played pretty well early until she got hurt. That hurt us her not being in there. We've got a lot we have to get better at. That's a team that just outplayed us from start to finish. True credit to them."
On bouncing back vs. Auburn...
"You just have to bounce back. You have to go to work. No quit. We're 4-8 in the league, we have to figure out how to get going. Another home game on Thursday against Auburn, we have to figure out a way to get it."
Rebel Sidelines
- Mississippi State has won the last seven meetings. After tonight Ole Miss leads the all-time series 63-30.
-With her 10 points Madinah Muhammad has reached double figures in each of the last six games.
-Taylor Manuel's 10 points mark her first game in double figures since scoring 13 against Alabama on Jan. 22
-Ole Miss has dropped its last two home games after opening the season with 12 straight home wins, the longest home winning streak in the Insell era.
-Ole Miss honored Lashaundra Lewis, mother of freshman Kate Rodgers with a pregame ceremony. Lewis is battling breast cancer.
-It was announced before the game that head coach Matt Insell's father Rick would be a member of the 2017 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame class.
Up Next
Ole Miss closes its three-game homestand with a Thursday night matchup with Auburn. The Rebels and Tigers will square off at 8 PM on the SEC Network.
Next Five Games
Feb. 16-vs. Auburn 8 PM
Feb. 19 - at Vanderbilt 2 PM
Feb. 23- at Mizzou 7 PM
Feb. 23 - vs. Texas A&M 4 PM - Senior Day
March 2-5 - at SEC Tournament TBA
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.
