Rebels Return from Break, Host Alabama State

			OLE MISS (6-6, 0-0 SEC) vs. ALABAMA STATE (3-7, 0-0 SWAC) Saturday, Dec. 28 • 2 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) 2019-20 Team Shirt Giveaway
Watch • Live Stats • Listen • Buy Tickets Ole Miss Game Notes (PDF) • Alabama State Game Notes • SEC Game Notes

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss women's basketball returns from the holiday break to close out the non-conference season when it hosts Alabama State for a Saturday afternoon showdown. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT inside The Pavilion at Ole Miss and on SEC Network +.

PROMOTIONS
• 2019-20 Ole Miss Women's Basketball team shirt giveaway

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (6-6, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 2nd Season at Ole Miss (15-28) • 109-91 career record (7th Season)

Alabama State Lady Hornets (3-7, 0-0 SWAC)
Head Coach: Freda Freeman-Jackson • 22nd Season at Alabama State (308-316) • 308-316 career record (22nd season)

ON THE AIR

Television/Online: SEC Network +
Play-by-Play: Will Kollmeyer
Color: Lindsay Roy

OLE MISS RADIO

Radio: 105.1 FM
Audio: TuneIn
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty

SERIES NOTES vs. ALABAMA STATE

Series History
First meeting

SCOUTING ALABAMA STATE

Record
3-7, 0-0 SWAC

Last Game
L, 81-60, vs. North Alabama
• Top Scorers: Ayana Emmanuel (14 points), Armani Smith (13 points)
• Shot 35.6 percent, yielded 57.7 to UNA
• Five UNA players in double-digits

Notes
• RPI: 283
• Shooting .339 as a team, allowing .456
• Allowing .401 three-point shooting
• Averaging 18.7 turnovers per game
• Ranks 13th NCAA in offensive rebounds per game (16.5)

Players to Watch

#30 Aniyah Smith
• 11.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG, .426 FG

#0 Ayana Emmaniel
• 10.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, .330 FG, .371 3PT

TEAM NOTES

LAST TIME OUT (vs. Louisiana)
Ole Miss and Louisiana clawed back and forth in a defensive struggle, but it was the Ragin' Cajuns who came out with the victory as the Rebels fell, 53-42, at The Pavilion on Dec. 20.

Runs and scoring droughts were bountiful on both sides, but the Rebels (6-6) were never able to overcome an 11-point deficit following the first quarter despite chipping away at the Louisiana (7-3) lead effectively in the second half. Neither team shot particularly well, shooting a combined 30-of-102 (.294) from the field, and although the Rebels had a 5-1 advantage in three-pointers thanks to a solid night from senior Torri Lewis, the Ragin' Cajuns made Ole Miss pay on the free throw line, draining 20-of-24 from the charity stripe.

Louisiana opened the game with a strong first quarter, stifling the Rebels from the field for six minutes while closing the quarter on a 12-3 run to take a 20-9 lead, shooting 50 percent from the floor in the process. The Ragin' Cajuns got out to their largest lead of the game at 15 points by the 7:23 mark of the second quarter, but two quick buckets by Valerie Nesbitt (six points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals) and Deja Cage (seven points, three rebounds, two steals) gave Ole Miss the spark it needed as it held Louisiana scoreless for nearly six minutes in the second quarter.

Ole Miss ripped off a 9-0 run in that stretch, which was helped by a Rebel defense that turned seven Louisiana turnovers into nine points in the second quarter alone. Freshman Jayla Alexander (six points, five rebounds, two steals) capped the run off with a big three-pointer with 2:09 to go in the half to make it a six-point game, but the Ragin' Cajuns went on a 6-2 run to close the half that kept their lead at 10 points (30-20).

The Rebel defense did not yield to start the third quarter, holding Louisiana scoreless for the first 5:18 of the period, and back-to-back treys from Lewis made it a six-point game heading into the fourth quarter.

The drought bug hit the Rebels back in the fourth, though, as they were held scoreless for separate periods of 4:03 and 2:59 in the final frame as the Ragin' Cajuns held on for the win. Another Lewis three followed quickly by a Nesbitt layup at 4:00 cut the lead to five, but that would be as close as the Rebels would get the remainder of the game.

Lewis led the Rebels with 11 points on a trio of three-pointers, her 29th career game with multiple threes. The Ragin' Cajuns, meanwhile, were led by Ty'Reona Doucet, who had 16 points and 7 rebounds.

SUCCESS AGAINST THE SWAC
Ole Miss has a dominant all-time record against current SWAC schools, holding a 80-7 advantage. This Saturday marks the first time that the Rebels and Alabama State have matched up, but it will be the third SWAC school Ole Miss has faced this season after a 72-53 season-opening win against Mississippi Valley State and a 73-55 win against Alcorn State on Nov. 29 in Daytona Beach. Ole Miss holds winning records against Alabama A&M (3-0), Alcorn State (15-1), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (7-0), Grambling State (7-1), Jackson State (22-3), Mississippi Valley State (17-2), Prairie View A&M (1-0), Southern University (7-0) and Texas Southern (1-0).

OFF THE LINE
Ole Miss has proved difficult to damage from distance, ranking sixth in the SEC at an opposing three-point percentage of 27.6 while holding opponents to five or fewer three-pointers in 10 of 12 games this season. Just one Rebel opponent has shot better than 33 percent from distance, with Pitt shooting 41.2 on Nov. 30. Recently, the Rebel defense held Louisiana to a season-low 1-of-10 clip from the three-point line, the third time in the last two seasons that Ole Miss has held an opposing team to one three-point field goal.

In the Coach Yo era, three-point defense has been a point of emphasis, holding opponents to five threes or fewer in 27 of 43 games in her two seasons. Last season, Ole Miss held 17 opponents to 30 percent or less from three, including 12 that shot 25 percent or worse and four that haven't been able to break 20 percent. The year before, Ole Miss held opponents under 30 percent just 10 times all season.

VARIETY IN THE STARTING LINEUP
Ole Miss has used nine different starting lineups in its first 12 games of the 2019-20 season. In Coach Yo's first season with the Rebels, Ole Miss used 17 different starting lineups through 31 total games played.

STEAL YO BALL
The Rebel defense have been masters of theft, recording 13 steals vs. Louisiana Tech and 15 against Sam Houston State. Those two games mark the first consecutive games of at least 13 steals since notching 13 against Austin Peay on Dec. 20, 2016 and 24 vs. Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 28, 2016.

OPTIONS IN THE SCORING COLUMN
Versatility has been the name of the game on offense, as six different Rebels have led Ole Miss in scoring this season after having just four unique top scorers throughout the entire 2018-19 season. Juniors Deja Cage and Valerie Nesbitt, as well as sophomore Taylor Smith, are the lone Rebels to have repeated, with Nesbitt doing so four times, Cage three times and Smith twice. Other top Rebel scorers include freshman Jayla Alexander vs. UNO (21), junior Dominique Banks at Southern Miss (13) and senior Torri Lewis vs. Louisiana (11).

BENCH COMING THROUGH
The Rebel bench has been active in the scoring department, out-scoring opponents in 10 of 12 games thus far for a season total of 270-161.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

AIR IT OUT, TORRI!
Senior three-point specialist Torri Lewis has picked up right where she left off two years ago, returning for the Rebels as a key weapon from deep. Lewis, who returned for her redshirt senior season at Ole Miss after sitting out last year due to the birth of her son, A.J., is a career 34.4 percent three-point shooter. In her career, 85.4 percent of all of her field goals have come from three-point distance.

Lewis has found her hot hand as of late, shooting a combined 7-of-18 (.389) from three-point distance in the last two games after knocking down four against Georgia Southern on Dec. 16 and three against Louisiana on Dec. 20. Lewis opened the season with three treys against MVSU, giving her three games this season with at least three trifectas.

In her career, Lewis owns 29 games with multiple threes -- hitting seven or more threes in a game twice. She knocked down a school-record 10 in a game vs. New Orleans as a freshman in 2015 (the third-most in a single-game in NCAA history), and during her junior year, she nailed seven against Alabama.

During that junior season, Lewis was on fire from downtown in the final month of the season, going 16-of-32 in a stretch from deep from Feb. 1-11. That season, 90 percent of her made field goals were three-pointers and 131 of her 150 attempts were from beyond the arc (87.3 percent).

BANKS WITH THE REJECTION
Junior Dominique Banks is on pace for a historical season defensively. At her current average of 2.8 blocks per game, she is on pace to record the second-most blocks in a single season in Ole MIss history with 81. Banks is currently the NCAA's 14th-best in blocks per game and No. 8 overall in total blocks (34).

1. Promise Taylor - 82 ('17-18, 31 games)
2. Shawn Goff - 67 ('07-08, 29 games)
3. Shawn Goff - 60 ('08-09, 30 games)
4. Susan Byrd - 60 ('93-94, 33 games)
5. Susan Byrd - 59 ('92-93, 28 games)

Furthermore, her eight blocks against Georgia Southern on Dec. 16 stand as the second-most in a game at Ole Miss, as well as the fifth-most in the NCAA this season.

DOM ON THE BLOCK
Junior Dominique Banks has been a force to reckon with on the block, averaging 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks to go along with her 7.0 points per game average. Banks recently recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds vs. Alcorn State, the most boards by a Rebel since Bretta Hart hauled in 18 against Western Kentucky on Dec. 2, 2015.

Banks has started four games for the Rebels at the five position, and she currently ranks second in the SEC with her 2.8 blocks per game and 10th at 7.3 rebounds.

NESBITT STRONG IN SECOND HALF
Junior Valerie Nesbitt has risen as one of the top scoring threats for Ole Miss, but her prowess in the second half has been remarkable as well. Nesbitt has scored at least 12 points in six of her last eight games, averaging 13.4 points per game in that stretch. In her last six games alone, though, Nesbitt is averaging 13.3 points overall and 8.3 points per game in the second half alone. Nesbitt averaged 17.0 points in two games at the Daytona Beach Invitational against Alcorn State and Pitt, with an impressive 13.5 points in the second half of those two games. On the season, Nesbitt is averaging 11.5 points overall and 7.0 points in the second half.

NESBITT STUFFS THE STAT SHEET
Junior Valerie Nesbitt has been a force of nature on every side of the ball this season, averaging 11.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 3.4 assists. Stealing the ball has been her bread and butter, though, currently leading the SEC and ranking 18th in the NCAA at her 3.2 steals per game average. Nesbitt had an all-around superb game against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 23, recording an incredible line of 12 points, eight assists, eight steals and six rebounds. Her eight steals rank as the most by any player in the SEC this season, as well as tied for No. 4 on the Ole Miss single-game list. Additionally, it is the first game in available records at Ole Miss in which a Rebel has recorded at least eight assists and eight steals in the same game. She is also one of just three in the NCAA this season to have recorded such a game alongside Norfolk State's Chanette Hicks (20 points, 14 assists, 11 steals vs. Virginia-Lynchburg, Nov. 14) and Texas Southern's Ciani Cryor (20 points, 9 assists, 8 steals vs. Rice, Dec. 7).

NESBITT ON PACE
Junior Valerie Nesbitt's propensity to steal the ball has put her into an elite class of Rebel defenders. At her average of 3.2 steals per game, Nesbitt is on pace to finish the regular season with 92 steals, which would rank sixth on the Ole Miss single-season list.

1. Carol Ross - 135 ('79-80, 37 games)
2. Armintie Price - 131 ('06-07, 35 games)
3. Armintie Price - 104 ('05-06, 31 games)
4. Glenda Springfield - 98 ('78-79, 39 games)
5. Alisa Scott - 95 ('84-85, 32 games)

CLUTCH FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Freshman and Pearl, Mississippi native Jayla Alexander has been money from the free throw line, currently ranking second in the SEC and 20th in the NCAA in free throw shooting at 88.6 percent.

Alexander has been a key reserve off the bench, scoring 101 of her 107 points off the bench -- including 52 points in a four-game stretch from Nov. 15 to Nov. 26. Alexander went off against New Orleans, more than doubling her previous career high of 10 points with a 21-point outing against the Privateers. She followed that up with an 11-point performance at Southern Miss and a 13-point outing against Sam Houston State.

Alexander, the No. 1 rated recruit out of the state of Mississippi last year, has played at least 18 minutes in each game this season. Helping her against UNO was a 5-of-8 clip from beyond the arc.

OH MY, SHE'S ON FIRE!
Junior Deja Cage has been a dynamic scorer for the Rebels, recording seven different double-digit game through 12 contests this season and standing as the top Ole Miss scorer in three contests. Cage has also been one of the most consistent three-point shooters in the league, ranking sixth in threes per game (1.9).

Cage lit the net on fire with a career-high 30-point performance on 10-of-18 shooting and 5-of-8 three-point shooting against Louisiana Tech, one of just eight 30-point games in the SEC this season. She is one of just four Rebels in the last five years to have recorded a 30-point game.

MIMI DIRECTING TRAFFIC
Sophomore guard Mimi Reid has returned to her role as the floor general for the Rebels, leading Ole Miss in assists five times this year and recording at least five assists four times. Reid has recorded six assists twice this year against MVSU and New Orleans -- the 11th and 12th times in her young career she has recorded at least six in a game.

Reid was unflappable in this role as a redshirt freshman in 2018-19, spearheading what was an efficient Rebel offensive attack. She was the only player in the SEC last year with separate games of 11+ assists (vs. Louisiana) and 11+ rebounds (vs. Western Michigan), and she led all SEC freshmen with 4.3 assists per game (sixth overall). Reid was also the most efficient shooter for the Rebels last season, knocking down a team-high 40.2 percent of her field goal tries.

COOKING WITH KITCHENS
Sophomore Iyanla Kitchens blossomed in a big way against ULM, recording her first double-double with career highs in points (10) and rebounds (10). Kitchens, who averaged 6.2 minutes per game her freshman season, is currently averaging 5.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game through 12 games played in 2019-20.

SMITH IN SPOTLIGHT AS SOPHOMORE
Sophomore Taylor Smith emerged as a potent scoring threat for the Rebels after a career day against Mississippi Valley State. Smith, who entered this season with a career-high of nine points scored against Florida last season, doubled that with a demonstrative 18-point performance on 9-of-17 shooting. Smith started off a perfect 4-of-4 from the field thanks to a deadly mid-range jumper.

Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole MissWBB. You can also follow head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on Twitter at @YolettMcCuin

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Players Mentioned

Jayla Alexander

Dominique Banks

Deja Cage

Iyanla Kitchens

Torri Lewis

Mimi Reid

Taylor Smith

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