Ole Miss Tops Lady Vols for First Time Since 1996

January 12, 2017

OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI/Ole Miss Athletics) – The Ole Miss women’s basketball team (13-4, 2-2 SEC) was on the right side of history in a 67-62 win over Tennessee (10-6, 2-2 SEC) on Thursday night a The Pavilion at Ole Miss. The win snapped a 28-game losing streak to the women’s basketball powerhouse and gave Ole Miss its 12th consecutive win on its home floor this season – the longest home winning streak in the last decade.

The fourth quarter was certainly a back-and-forth affair with neither team taking more than a two possession lead. Early in the fourth quarter Shequila Joseph (London, England) nailed two free throws to give Ole Miss its first lead since the 6:02 mark of the first quarter and from that point the teams matched each other bucket for bucket until the final minute of action in which Ole Miss went 7-of-8 from the line to seal the victory and remain perfect at The Pavilion.

Madinah Muhammad (Chicago, Ill.) recoded her fourth 20-point game with a team-best 21 points, while birthday girl Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and team-best 11 rebounds. She was also a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line with four of those coming in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 32-27 out of the halftime break, Tennessee went on a 10-2 run to take a 42-29 lead forcing an early timeout by the home team. Ole Miss clawed back into it and used big buckets from Taylor Manuel (St. Louis, Mo.) and Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss.) to get the lead to single digits behind an 11-2 run over the course of 3:46 late in the third quarter.

Muhammad played a heck of the third quarter with six crucial points in the third quarter, which got the Rebels all the way back into the game. Ole Miss tied the game at 47 at the 1:13 mark, putting them well within striking distance heading into the decisive fourth quarter.

Tennessee took an early 5-2 lead but the Rebels settled in and started to run some offense through Oxford native Erika Sisk, who had four early points, and at the first media timeout the Rebels held a 14-9 advantage. Muhammad was a spark in the opening minutes with seven early points including a triple just before the media timeout. Out of the break, Ole Miss kept the pedal to the metal and went on a 6-0 run over a 1:13 span and took a 21-11 lead, forcing Tennessee to call a timeout with under 30 seconds left in the quarter.

The Rebels kept their momentum in the second quarter opening with a long jumper from Manuel but Tennessee started to get into some rhythm and cut the once 10-point lead to one possession, 23-20, at the 6:31 mark forcing Insell to call a timeout. A triple from Jamie Nared, tied the game at 25 with 4:03 left and the Lady Vols took their first lead since the opening minutes with 3:50 remaining, a lead they would take into the break.

From The Head Coach

On the win…
“I told them after the game, it’s about time to start our own streak. They had beaten us 28 times in a row—it’s time for us to do something. We have a good team. It’s a huge win for us. Huge in recruiting. It was a complete team game. We got down there big in the third quarter, but our kids kept fighting. We kept telling them in huddles, ‘We’re fine. Just keep playing, and they’re going to give you a chance to win it.’ I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

On coming back after two defeats…
“We went to Alabama and Auburn and struggle, and a lot of people counted us out. This team isn’t dead. We have a lot of basketball left. We’re in a tough stretch. We play two of the top five teams in the country the next two games. Tennessee is one of the top 25 teams in the nation. What a win.”

On what he told his team throughout the game…
“I just kept reminding them that we practiced our butt off and that we’re a good basketball team. I kept telling them, ‘You’re a good basketball team. Don’t let them get out here and bully us. Don’t let them think they can beat us here, and our kids kept fighting. It’s the true definition of who we are. The program has come a long way.”

Rebel Sidelines
-Today’s game against Auburn was the second of four straight against teams ranked in the top 20 of the NCAA’s RPI (at Auburn, Tennessee, at South Carolina, at Mississippi State)

-The win snaps a streak of 28 consecutive losses to Tennessee. The last time Ole Miss defeated Tennessee was in 1996, 78-72 in Oxford.

-The 13 point comeback is the larges for Ole Miss in the Insell era and the largest since coming back from 16 down vs. Vanderbilt in 2011.

-There are several Ole Miss-Tennessee ties. Ole Miss assistant coach Alex (Fuller) Simmons played for the Lady Vols and was a member of the 2008 and 2009 championships. Tennessee’s athletic trainer Ashley Wilson was the Ole Miss WBB athletic trainer before leaving for Tennessee and the Lady Vols Director of Ops Michael Beaumont served as the Ole Miss football Asst. AD for Football Operations under Houston Nutt.

-Ole Miss’ six points in the second quarter are the fewest this season and the fewest since scoring nine points in the third quarter at UNLV.

-Shandricka Sessom was in double figures for the 13th time with 14 points and posted her sixth career and fourth double-double of the season.

-Madinah Muhammad reached double figures for the ninth time this season with 21 points and posted her fourth game of 20 or more points.

Up Next
Ole Miss hits the road for a Monday night showdown with Mississippi State in Starkville on Monday, Jan. 16. The Rebels and Bulldogs square off on the SEC Network at 6 PM CT with Brenda VanLengn and Carol Ross on the call.

Next Five Games
Jan. 16- at Mississippi State 6 PM
Jan. 19- at South Carolina 6 PM
Jan. 22-vs. Alabama 2 PM
Jan. 26 – at Kentucky 7 PM
Jan. 29 – vs. Georgia 2 PM