Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Falls At No. 2 South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Ole Miss Athletics) – The Ole Miss women’s basketball team battled against the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks but couldn’t quite match up as they dropped an 81-62 game on Thursday night in Columbia, S.C. at Colonial Life Arena.

Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) led the Ole Miss offense with 26 points for her fourth consecutive game in double figures and her sixth game of 20 or more points this season. Sessom also added a team-best eight rebounds. Shequila Joseph (London, England) had nine points while Cecilia Muhate Pena (Madrid, Spain) had a career-best eight points.

Rebounding and points in the paint were the major difference in the game, as the Gamecocks held a 45-28 edge on the glass and a 46-34 advantage in the paint. Ole Miss battled the entire night and used an 8-0 run late in the fourth quarter to cut the South Carolina lead to 14 points but the home team answered to remain undefeated on the season.

South Carolina opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run forcing Insell to call a timeout at the 8:13 mark of the third quarter to stop the momentum. Ole Miss tried to cut into the lead late in the quarter and used a 6-0 run sparked by buckets from Sessom and reigning SEC Player of the Week Shequila Joseph (London, England) but the inside-out play from South Carolina’s Tiffany Mitchell and A’Ja Wilson was too much as the home team closed the quarter with six straight points.

South Carolina opened the game with six straight points from A’Ja Wilson before a bucket from Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) opened the scoring for the Rebels at the 7:51 mark. The Gamecocks took a 13-point lead in the first quarter and extended it to a game-high 16 points before the Rebels dug in in defense in the second quarter. Sessom’s offensive prowess was on display in the first half as the Mississippi native, tallied 13 points to lead all-scorers essentially putting the Rebels offense on her back. With South Carolina leading, 32-16, the Rebels used a 7-0 run to get the Gamecock lead into single digits with 3:54 remaining in the half but the home team used a 8-2 run to close the half to take a 40-26 lead at halftime.

Rebel Sidelines

-South Carolina is the fifth consecutive ranked opponent the Rebels have faced and the second AP-ranked top 10 foe for the Rebels.

-Today’s game was a homecoming for graduate manager Brett Ball. Ball was a member of the South Carolina women’s basketball team as a student assistant for four years. After being originally recruited to play for the Gamecocks, Ball was diagnosed with a heart condition and was medically unable to play collegiate basketball.

-Shandricka Sessom reached double figures for the fourth straight game and the 18 the time this season.

-Shequila Joseph nailed a triple for the fourth straight game while Torri Lewis hit a trey for the fifth time in the last six games.

-Cecilia Muhate Pena tallied a career-best eight points.

Up Next

The Rebels will host No. 22/24 Missouri on Sunday at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Fans can catch the game on SEC Network with Paul Sunderland and Gail Goestenkors on the call. Fans can also hear Graham Doty and Armintie Herrington on the call on 105.1/105.5 in Oxford/Batesville and on OleMissSports.com