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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
San Diego State
Women's Basketball to Face First Road Test in The Bay
11/25/2021 | Women's Basketball
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OLE MISS (4-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. SAN DIEGO STATE (4-1, 0-0 MWC) Raising the B.A.R. Invitational Powered by Cal Friday, November 26 • 5:00 p.m. • Berkeley, Calif. Haas Pavilion Cal Live Stream |
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Watch • Live Stats • Listen
Ole Miss Game Notes • SEC Game Notes • SDSU Game Notes |
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OXFORD, Miss. – The Rebels face their first test outside of the SJB Pavilion this weekend with two games in Berkeley, Calif. at the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational Powered by Cal. Ole Miss will face off against San Diego State Friday at 5 p.m. CT, followed by either Cal or Furman on Saturday.
TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (4-1, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 4th Season at Ole Miss (35-58) • 129-121 career record (9th Season)
San Diego State (4-1, 0-0 MWC)
Head Coach: Stacie Terry • 9th Season at San Diego State (98-146) • 98-146 career record (9th Season)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: Cal Live Stream
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
SERIES NOTES
RAISING THE B.A.R.
The Raising the B.A.R. Invitational Powered by Cal, will be used to elevate, the voices, stories and people in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging space.
B.A.R. stands for Basketball, Activism and Representation.
SERIES HISTORY vs. SDSU
This dates the first matchup between the Rebels and the Aztecs.
The Rebels are 5-2 all-time against members from the Mountain West Conference with their last matchup against a MWC school taking place against UNLV at the UNLV Tournament, falling to the Runnin' Rebels 64-57.
SCOUTING THE AZTECS
SDSU the Invitational after a 4-1 start, just the second time they've won four of their first five games under Stacie Terry-Hutson and are coming off of two straight wins against Georgia Southern and UAB. The Aztecs were picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West, and recieved two first place votes.
Sophia Ramos leads the Aztecs averaging 14.2 and 6.8 boards per game, followed by Asia Avinger 9.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Avinger was tabbed as the MW Preseason Freshman of the Year.
SERIES HISTORY vs. CAL
This would mark the first meeting between Cal and Ole Miss.
Ole Miss is 6-7 all-time against teams from the Pac-12, with their last matchup in a loss at Oregon in 2017.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS
The Golden Bears enter the week with an unblemished record of 4-0. Cal was chosen to finished 12th in the conference, after finishing 1-12 in conference play last season.
Freshman guard Jayda Curry has picked up back-to-back Pac-12 honors, earning the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week the last two weeks. Curry is curently averaging 22.0 points per game, and shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc.
SERIES HISTORY vs. FURMAN
A matchup against the Paladins would be the first in series history versus Ole Miss and Furman.
The Rebels are 13-5 against members from the Southern Conference, with their last victory coming against Samford in the 2021 WNIT.
SCOUTING THE PALADINS
Furman enters the week 4-1 and on a three game win streak after falling to fellow SEC foe Georgia in Athens. The Paladins were picked to finish fourth in the So-Con, with Tierra Hodges earning Preseason All So-Con honors.
Hodges currently leads the Paladins averaging 14.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. The redshirt senior was recently named the Southern Conference Player of the Week after recording her third double-double of the season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Rebels withstood a tough first half test from Jackson State Tuesday afternoon, unti Shakira Austin and Madison Scott took over each scoring 20 plus points against the Tigers.
Tied through the first quarter, Ole Miss utilized a strong second to create separation from the Tigers to win their 18th straight game in the series.
For the first time this season, two Rebels finished with 20 plus points as Shakira Austin dropped a season-high 24, followed by Madison Scott with a career-high 21. Destiny Salary led the Rebels dropping a career-high six dimes, as Ole Miss recorded 15 or more assists for the fourth game in a row.
ON A TEAR
For the third straight game, Shakira Austin continues to dominate in the paint and on the glass as for yet another double-double off of 24 points and 10 rebounds.
The center ranks second in the conference in double-doubles this season, trailing Missouri's Aijah Blackwell with four.
OFF THE LINE
Three-point defense has been a point of emphasis during the Coach Yo era, with 60 of 93 opponents being held to five or fewer.
1st Season (2018-19)
17-of-31 (54.8%)
2nd Season (2019-20)
21-of-30 (70.0%)
3rd Season (2020-21)
14-of-22 (63.6 %)
4th Season (2021-22)
4-of-5 (80.0%)
DEFENSE ON LOCK
The Rebels have been unstoppable on the defensive side in their last three outings, holding their opponents to an average of 49 points per game.
The 44 points allowed to the Lady Techsters was the first time since the 2011-2012 season that Ole Miss has kept its opponents under 50 points in back-to-back games.
The Lady Techsters were also held to just a mere 2 points in the second quarter, the fewest amount of points allowed by the Rebels in a quarter since the women's game moved to the format in 2015-2016.
SHARING IS CARING
For the third game in a row, six Rebels combined to dish out 20 assists or more in the win over LA Tech. Mimi Reid recorded a season-high nine, the most by a Rebel in a single-game this season.
Against Lamar and MVSU, the Rebels also racked up 24 assists. Against the Devilettes, Reid and Shakira Austin led the team with five a piece, while Austin set a new career-high.
Both outings tied the third most assists in a single game for the Rebels within the last four seasons.
DROPPIN' DIMES
Only five games into the season, the Rebels are on track to make history with three games already with 20 or more assists.
Last season, Ole Miss dished out 20 plus assists in five games, while the program record for the most 20 plus assist games in a single-season is six.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
Powered by Shakira Austin, the Rebels have been absolutely dominant on both sides of the boards, outrebounding their opponents by an average of 20.5 rebounds against Lamar and LA Tech.
The last time the Rebels accomplished this feat was in 2008, out rebounding Alcorn State and Nicholls State by 21 and 22 rebounds a piece.
BACK IN BUSINESS
After scoring three field goals through the first two games, Preseason All-SEC center Shakira Austin found herself back in usual form scoring 20 points and adding 13 rebounds for her first double-double of the season against Lamar
Austin followed up her performance with her 29th career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds against the Lady Techsters.
The Virginia native continues to lead the conference in active career boards with a total of 831 and ranks 15th nationally.
HOT HANDS x2
Coming off the bench against MVSU, Lashonda Monk and Caitlin McGee combined to go a perfect 10-of-10 from the field.
Monk dropped a season-high 11 points, while McGee tied her career-high with a total of 13.
The two are the first Rebels to be perfect from the field with five or more attempts since teammate Madison Scott shot 5-of-5 in the season opener against McNeese last season.
RIGHT ON TARGET
In her second game as a Rebel after transferring from Wright State, Angel Baker put on a show against MVSU with a total of 18 points and shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Baker's 80% clip from three was the highest by a Rebel with five or more attempts since Shandricka Sessom went 5-of-6 for 83.3 percent against Delaware State in 2017.
Last season Baker knocked down 43 triples, including her career-high of six against Green Bay.
WE'VE GOT A THIEF!
Against the Bruins, Madison Scott was aggressive defensively finishing with a career-high six steals. This marked the most steals by a Rebel in a single-game since November of 2019 when Valerie Nesbit tallied six against Pitt.
FOCUSED FROM THE LINE
In the season opener against Belmont, the Rebels shot 12-of-13 from the line, their highest percentage with 10 or more attempts since making 15-of-16 against Florida in the SEC Tournament in 2019.
GROCERY LIST COMPLETE
Yolett McPhee-McCuin and Co. made sure to check everything off their list this off-season, scouring the transfer portal to bring in three new Rebel guards to Oxford. Bringing in more NCAA Tournament experience to the court, all three look to make a strong impact on the hardwood.
Angel Baker - Sr.*- Wright State
- Two-time First-Team All Horizon League.
- 2021 Horizon League Tournament MVP.
- Dropped 26 points in the win in First Round of the NCAA Tournament against No. 4 Arkansas.
- Grabbed 12 boards against the Razorbacks for her second double-double of the year.
- Drained 43 3's in 2020-21, shooting 35.2% from beyond the arc.
Lashonda Monk - Gr. - ECU
- Two-time AAC Defensive Player of the Year, the first player in conference history to win the award multiple times.
- Four-time All-AAC honoree.
- Set the ECU single-season steals record with 125 in 2019-20.
- Enters the SEC as the active career leader in steals.
Destiny Salary - So. - Tennessee
- Reached the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament with the Lady Vols last season.
- Appeared in 24 games as a freshman.
- Became one of just 45 Lady Vols to score in double-digits in a debut, logging 10 points against Western Kentucky.
- No. 57 player and a four-star prospect by ESPN out of Jonesboro High School.
NOT A TYPO
Shakira Austin had herself quite the Tuesday on November 9, earning herself a spot on three national award watchlists by the time lunch rolled around. The center found herself on the Wade Trophy Watch List, The John R. Wooden Award Watch List and the Naismith Watch List as one of the top players in women's college basketball.
Austin recently also earned a spot on the Lisa Leslie Watch List, awarded to the best center in women's college basketball at the end of the season.
HIGH RESULTS, HIGH EXPECTATIONS
With all five starters from last season returning, the coaches through SEC recognized the potential of this year's Rebs, picking them to finish sixth in the SEC in the preseason coaches poll.
Sixth is the highest preseason ranking by the coaches since the SEC Coaches Poll began predicting order of finish in 2007-08, and the best overall since being picked fifth in the 2005-06 media poll.
Ole Miss was also picked to finish eighth in the SEC Preseason Media Poll, its best in that poll since 2015-16.
Austin also earned herself Preseason All-SEC honors in both polls, adding to her collection of preseason acclaim.
POSTSEASON RUN FOR THE REBS
Ole Miss rebounded from an 0-16 SEC season in 2019-20 in demonstrative fashion, putting the SEC on notice with an exciting 2020-21 season that saw the Rebels advance to the WNIT final -- the furthest postseason run in program history. Ole Miss ultimately fell to Rice in the title game, 71-58, but still made a lot of noise along the way in head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin's fourth season in Oxford.
WNIT Team Notes
• Advanced to the WNIT Semifinal and Final for the first time in school history
• First NCAA or WNIT semifinal or final in school history
• Outscored opponents +7.2 per game
• Shot 39.5 percent from the field
• Defense allowed just 56.6 PPG and .179 clip from beyond the arc
• Defense averaged 19.2 turnovers
• Out-rebounded opponents +9.0
• 16.4 free throws made per game
• 6.0 blocks per game
• Shakira Austin: All-Tournament and All-Memphis Regional
• Donnetta Johnson: All-Memphis Regional Team
WNIT Individual Notes
• Shakira Austin: 20.4 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 2.4 BPG, 1.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, .514 FG, .833 FT
• Donnetta Johnson: 10.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.6 APG, .365 FG
• Madison Scott: 9.4 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.6 BPG, .447 FG
• Mimi Reid: 5.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.6 APG
BRUTAL FINAL STRETCH
Ole Miss came up short of its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2007 after putting together a strong resume, particularly down the stretch in February. The Rebels ended with a NET of 43 and a strength of schedule of 82, which included a 4-8 record against the NET Top-50, a 3-6 record against ranked teams and a 5-6 record against current NCAA Tournament teams. Over their last eight games prior to the WNIT, the Rebels were 4-4 against an average NET of 16.8 (only two games at home), and over a brutal stretch of the last five games Ole Miss was 2-3 vs. an average NET of 13.4 (only one game at home).
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
