Ole Miss started fast, and didn’t look back in its 76-49 win over Libscomb to improve to 2-0 on the year.
The Rebels started the first quarter off strong by getting the tip off, scooping up loose rebounds for easy layups and making back-to-back three pointers.
“That first half was fun, probably the funnest half I’ve ever had in coaching, to watch how hard our team played defensively,” Coach Matt Insell said.
Junior guard, Shandricka Sessom lead the way offensively with 26 points. Along with Sessom, senior guard Erika Sisk and senior forward Shequila Joseph made it difficult for the Lady Bisons to score with their hard half court man-to-man defense.
“I was happy to see the intensity, they played as good as any team in the country could play the first few quarters because, defensively, we’ve been really good early on,” Insell said.
Taylor Manuel, fifth-year senior forward, also had an outstanding game making several impressive spin moves, leading the fast breaks at mid-court and playing tough inside the paint. She ended up with eight points and seven rebounds.
“She probably knows more about the game than our coaching staff combined. What makes her special is the fact she thinks the game like a coach and knows where people are supposed to be. It is incredible we get a fifth-year senior like her, “Insell said.
Madinah Muhammad, sophomore guard with nine points, played around not just Manuel but freshman forward Shelby Gibson with 10 points and two rebounds to help maintain the lead.
“We have some very talented wing players,” Insell said. “Our bread and butter has always been our wing players and they are some of the most explosive players in the country and are going to be able to show that now they have some post players.”
Throughout the game, the Rebels continued to put pressure on Lipscomb’s offense allowing the Rebels to have a 30-point lead and 14-1 Rebel run at halftime.
Insole said he was not as satisfied with the second half because his players did not play as hard defensively.
“I called a couple more time outs to get their minds back right, because its not about just winning this game, but about not developing bad habits. We had some bad habits come in second half that we do not want to develop defensively,” Insell said.
Ole Miss never got in real danger, though, and maintained a sizable lead for most of the second half, with Sessom having her ninth career 20-point game. Sisk continued to hustle for loose balls and got her second fast break of the night and passed it to Sessom to finish the game with a final score of 76-49.
Overall, the Rebels shot the basketball well, making 45 percent of their shots. That’s something Insell said that his team would be improved in is how efficiently they shoot the ball. However, in the first half, Ole Miss struggled with making their free throws, but ended up making 48 percent of them. Insell said he is not worried about the free throws in future games.
Ole Miss returns to action against Jacksonville State at 6 p.m. Thursday in The Pavilion.
