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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
16-10, 5-8
Auburn
15-12, 5-8SEC
Sessom Leads Ole Miss Past Auburn
2/16/2017 | Women's Basketball
Boxscore 
| Photo Gallery | Press Conference
OXFORD, Miss. - Auburn made the game as interesting as it could possibly be keeping it within two possessions for the final three minutes of the game but Ole Miss went 8-of-9 from the free throw line, spearheaded by Alissa Alston (New Haven, Conn.) going 6-of-8 down the stretch as the Ole Miss women's basketball team (16-10, 5-8 SEC) earned a 63-59 win over Auburn on Thursday night.
Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) had a great game scoring a game-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting form the floor for her first 20-point outing in SEC action this season and the 10th of her career. For the second straight game Taylor Manuel (St. Louis, Mo.) was in double figures with 13 points while Sessom and Shequila Joseph led the way with eight rebounds each.
The Rebels started the fourth quarter strong extending their lead to a game-high nine points at the 8:37 mark with a free throw from Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss.). The teams went back and forth all quarter and. Auburn cut the lead to 50-45 with 3:23 left in the game and with buckets from Brandy Montgomery made it a two possession game with 1:45 left but Ole Miss sealed the win from the line with Alston's career best 12 free throws.
Out of the halftime break, the teams traded buckets for the better part of the third quarter, scoring a combined 30 points. Sessom was a very bright spot for Rebels as she had 20 of Ole Miss' first 34 points midway through the third quarter, with the next leading scorer being Manuel with five points. With the Rebels leading 34-31, Auburn scored six unanswered but back-to-back treys from Sessom and a bucket in the paint late from Manuel kept the lead with the home team at the end of three quarters, 44-38.
Ole Miss scored the first bucket of the game on a Madinah Muhammad (Chicago, Ill.) jumper and from that point the teams traded buckets through the opening minutes. The Rebels were helped by the offense of second leading scorer Sessom, who had seven of Ole Miss' first nine points, after scoring just three points against Mississippi State on Sunday. The Rebel defense was able to hold the Tigers without a FG for 6:14 as they took an 11-6 lead. Auburn got back on the board with a trey to take cut the Ole Miss lead to two points before three unanswered by Taylor Manuel (St. Louis, Mo.) kept the lead with Ole Miss, 14-10, at the end of the first quarter.
The Rebels extended their lead to 18-12 with 6:29 on the clock in the second quarter courtesy of triple from Sessom forcing the Tigers to call a timeout to try and regroup. It was the Rebels that scored out of the break but Auburn chipped away and with five unanswered cut the lead to 20-19 before taking their first lead of the game, at the 3:26 mark.
Alissa Alston (New Haven, Conn.) was a spark late in the second quarter, driving the ball and getting to the line. She was 4-of-4 from the line late in the quarter as the teams went into the locker room tied at 26. Ole Miss did a great job on Auburn's leading scorers, Katie Frerking and Brandy Montgomery as they scored a combined 10 points in the first half well below their season averages.
From The Head Coach
On the win...
"We needed that. That's a big win for us. Auburn's got a great team. They're a team right there in the bubble watch for the NCAA tournament, and we needed this win to keep pace. That's a huge win for our basketball team. They embarrassed us down there, and we came back and beat them here. That's a momentum win for us. If we win four in a row, we'll be right back in the thick of this thing. I couldn't be more proud of our team."
On coming back after a tough showing in Auburn...
"We didn't play well down there. What about Sessom? Manuel came back in the second half and played well. I couldn't be more proud of our team. Things that don't show up on the stat sheet are Erika Sisk and Alissa Alston. They ran our basketball team all night. Their minutes don't show up on the stat sheet, but it shows up big in my column. Those two kids had a lot of heart tonight."
On Shequila Joseph...
"She played 38 minutes. She guarded guards, she guarded post. Another player who doesn't show up in the stat sheet, but how great did she play?"
Rebel Sidelines
-Kate Rodgers is the lone Rebel that hails from Alabama She is from Birmingham and attended Wenonah HS.
-Sessom reached double figures for the eighth time in the last 10 games with 26 points. It is her second 20-pt game of the season and the 10th of her career.
-Shequila Joseph was back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench the last five games.
-Taylor Manuel was in double figures for the second straight game with 13 points.
-Alissa Alston's 12 free throws is a new career-high.
Up Next
Ole Miss heads to Vanderbilt to take on the Commodores on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 2 PM and will stream live on SEC Network+
Next Five Games
Feb. 19 - at Vanderbilt 2 PM
Feb. 23- at Mizzou 7 PM
Feb. 23 - vs. Texas A&M 4 PM - Senior Day
March 1-5 - 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.
