Ole Miss Women Fall at Auburn on Sunday

AUBURN, Ala. (WCBI/Ole Miss Athletics) – The Ole Miss women’s basketball team (12-4, 1-2 SEC) couldn’t keep up with Auburn’s dropping an 83-60 road contest to the Tigers.

Shequila Joseph (London, England) led the offense with 16 points – a new season-high – and team-best six rebounds. Joseph was joined in double figures by sophomore Alissa Alston (New Haven, Conn.) who added 12 points for her second game in double figures this season.

The Rebels struggled from the floor throughout the night and couldn’t get anything going against the Auburn pressure, which forced Ole Miss into a season-high 24 turnovers while scoring 30 points off the Rebel miscues, with 20 coming on fast break opportunities.

Auburn opened the third quarter with seven straight points including a triple from Brandy Montgomery, which forced Ole Miss head coach Matt Insell to call a timeout. The Rebels tried to get into some type of offensive rhythm midway through the quarter and used an 8-2 run, sparked by six points from Joseph, but they couldn’t stop the Tigers on the other end, who rode their senior Montgomery to the tune of 25 points.

The first several minutes of the game were a match up of strength on strength, as the Rebels and Tigers are both known for their defense. At the first media timeout, the home team held a slim 12-9 advantage. Ole Miss cut the lead to one point and kept it within two possessions before a 9-2 run by the home team gave them a 30-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Auburn extended its lead to 15 points – the largest of the half – with eight points to open the second quarter. Ole Miss struggled with turnovers as they had 16 first-half turnovers, leading to 20 points for the Auburn. Taylor Manuel (St. Louis, Mo.) started to warm up in the second quarter with six points, including an old-fashioned three-point play, while Joseph nailed a triple midway through the quarter. However, Ole Miss struggled to stop the Tigers from long range as they had four triples (4-of-9) in the first half and finished 8-of-15 from beyond the arc.

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

-Shequila Joseph was in double figures for the third time this season and the second time in the last three games with 16 points.

-Alissa Alston posted 10 points for her second game in double figures and first since scoring 14 points vs. Jackson State on Dec. 1.

-Ole Miss dropped its 10th consecutive SEC road game, with its last road win coming on Feb. 19, 2015 at Auburn.

Up Next
Ole Miss heads back to Oxford to take on Tennessee on Thursday (Jan. 12). Game time is set for 6 PM at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. The contest can also be seen on SEC Network+ and on the WatchESPN app.

Next Five Games
Jan. 12- vs. Tennessee                                          6 PM
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