Mississippi guard Diara Moore goes up for a shot past Florida forward Lily Svete during Sunday’s game.
(DM Photo/Ignacio Murillo)
Falling 81-60 to Florida at home this past Sunday, the Ole Miss women’s basketball team (10-13, 1-8 Southeastern Conference) dropped its third consecutive conference game since its first SEC victory over Mississippi State. This Thursday, the road doesn’t get any easier for the Rebels, as they will host No. 8 Tennessee (18-4, 7-2 SEC) at 8 p.m. on CSS.
In the last meeting between the two teams on Jan. 9, Tennessee dominated Ole Miss, 94-70, in a game where senior point guard Valencia McFarland went an abysmal four of 17 from the field. No Rebel scored in double figures in the loss.
“It was really frustrating because I felt like they were playing harder than us, and that hurts us,” head coach Matt Insell said.
In essence, Tennessee, one of the most storied women’s basketball programs in NCAA history, is the Super Bowl game for the Rebels. Everyone wants to beat this team every year. To steal a game like this would be huge for the Rebels, as they will hit the road next week against Georgia and Kentucky.
In the first matchup, the Rebels shot only 34.6 percent and got their shots blocked 10 times by the Lady Vols. Those numbers will have to change dramatically if Ole Miss wants to pull the upset.
Impact Players
Ole Miss: Freshman forward Shequila Joseph is due for a breakout game at some point. She is also the prime candidate to guard Cierra Burdick with the length and physicality that she brings to the defensive end of the floor. As of late, the Rebels have struggled to have a consistent fourth scorer. This could be the game that Joseph comes through for the starting lineup.
Tennessee: Junior forward Cierra Burdick is on a roll lately. Burdick just won the SEC Player of the Week last week, as she led her team in scoring with 18.5 points and in rebounds with nine boards against Arkansas and Alabama. The win over Alabama was Tennessee’s 40th consecutive victory over the Crimson Tide. Burdick has the hot hand right now, and she can’t be found wide open on offense.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss women’s basketball follow @browningstubbs and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
