Mississippi women’s head coach Matt Insell, left, hugs his father and opposing head coach, Rick Insell, right, of Middle Tennessee, before an NCAA women’s college basketball WNIT game Thursday, March 26, 2015, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The game is believed to be only the second father-son coaching matchup in Division I women’s basketball history. (AP Photo/Daily News Journal, Helen Comer)
In the round two matchup between father and son, father and Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Insell once again came out over his son Matt, leading MTSU to a 82-70 win over the Rebels, Thursday night in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
It didn’t help that the Rebels got off to a slow start early in the game, which allowed Middle Tennessee State to cruise to a halftime lead of 41-24.
Ole Miss began to chip away at the lead in the second half, getting the deficit down to eight with 13:17 left to play in the game. The Blue Raiders then used a quick 6-0 spurt to push the lead back up to 59-45.
The Rebels could never get closer than that, as Middle Tennessee took their foot off the gas the rest of the way and coasted to a victory.
Senior forward Tia Faleru, the catalyst for the Rebels’ team this whole year, was held to 1-of-4 shooting with four points and one rebound. With Faleru not being able to get going, head coach Matt Insell struggled to get his team going.
Freshman guard Shandrika Sessom scored 18 points, including 3-of-5 from the three-point line. If this performance is any sign of things to come next season, then Sessom will have a big year. She led the Rebels on the night and behind her was fellow freshman guard A’Queen Hayes, who scored 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Senior forward Danielle McCray also pitched in with 13 points.
Defense was the deciding factor in the father-son matchup as the Rebels allowed a season high 60-percent shooting to the Blue Raiders and only forced six steals on the night.
Sophomore guard Olivia Jones and sophomore guard Ty Petty did whatever they wanted against the Rebels as they combined for 51 points.
It wasn’t the ending Faleru wanted, but it was more than a successful season for the Rebels. They finish with their most wins (19) since the 2009-2010 season and their first postseason appearance since then.
We will have to wait until next year for another run for Matt Insell and his team. Without Faleru, this team will have a different look next season, but hopefully the young players that showed up tonight will give the Rebels another a great season,
Ole Miss finishes their season at 19-14 overall and 7-9 in the Southeastern Conference. The Rebels went an impressive 15-5 at home and 3-8 on the road.
