Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Season Ends With Loss To Vanderbilt

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Ole Miss Athletics) – Ole Miss ended its season with a 74-59 loss to Vanderbilt in the opening round of the 2016 SEC Tournament. Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) lead the way with 17 points for her 25th game in double figures this season and her third straight game in double figures. Bretta Hart (Poplarville, Miss.) was also in double figures with 13 points and a team-best seven rebounds to go with a career-best four blocks.

With the Commodores holding a double-digit lead for the majority of the game, Ole Miss closed the game on a 21-2 run courtesy of eight points from Hart but it wasn’t enough to combat the 56.3 percent shooting (27-of-48) of Vanderbilt, including a blistering 64.7 percent in the first quarter.

In the third quarter Vanderbilt extended it’s lead to 27 points and although Ole Miss struggled to score the ball, Sessom was a bright spot, scoring 19 points, 11 in the second half, for her 25th game in double figures this season. Kiara Golden (Olive Branch, Miss.) was a huge spark off the bench with back-to-back buckets off steals midway though the quarter, cutting the Vanderbilt lead to 53-34.

Ole Miss’ picked it up in the second half, scoring 40 second half points while holding Vanderbilt to just 32 and just 10 in the fourth frame The Rebels scored 23 points off 23 Vanderbilt turnovers spearheaded by a career-best four blocks from Hart.

Ole Miss scored the first points of the game but Vanderbilt roared back with seven unanswered points to take a 7-2 lead at the 7:40 mark forcing Insell to take a timeout. Out of the break, Ole Miss’ struggles continues as the Commodores jumped out to a 18-2 lead before four straight free throws got the Rebels on the board but not before the Commodores took a 29-12 lead at the end of the quarter. The Rebels settled down and guarded in the second quarter and cut into the lead but shot just 18.2 percent from the floor an had just seven points trailed 42-19 at halftime.

Rebel Sidelines
-Todays’ game is the second meeting between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt with the first meeting coming back on Jan. 3 in the SEC opener for both teams, a 55-52, win for Ole Miss. With today’s loss Ole Miss falls to 0-5 against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament

-Ole Miss used its lineup of A’Queen Hayes, Shandricka Sessom, Madinah Muhammad, Shequila Joseph and Bretta Hart for the second consecutive game.

-Sessom recorded her 25th game in double figures this season with 19 points. She has reached double digits in the last three games.

-Kiara Golden saw her first action since the Texas A&M game on Feb. 15 and recorded 7 points. Here most points in SEC action and most since scoring 12 vs. McNeese State on Dec. 19.

-Bretta Hart posted a career-high four blocks

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The Rebels end the season with a 10-20, 2-14 SEC record. Ole Miss, the youngest team in the SEC, returns all its players for the 2016-17 campaign.