Mississippi guard Gracie Frizzell prepares to pass during a game earlier this season. (File Photo | Payton Teffner)
There is nothing better to end a six-game losing streak than to play the last place team in the SEC, Auburn, on the road. Auburn (9-16, 0-12 SEC) is just coming off a loss at home to Arkansas on Sunday and still stands winless in the SEC by losing 12-straight SEC games.
It is a prime opportunity for the Ole Miss women’s basketball team to get back on track in the conference and find their first SEC win since they beat then-16th ranked Georgia back on Jan. 15. The Rebels have lost seven straight SEC contests.
On Sunday, Ole Miss (14-11, 4-8 SEC) lost to Missouri, continuing their month-long skid. The Rebels dropped the contest to the Tigers by a score of 72-58. Senior forward Tia Faleru led Ole Miss with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Freshman guard A’Queen Hayes contributed with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists.
After getting blown-out at home against Tennessee, head coach Matt Insell said in his post game presser that he felt like his team did not provide any effort on the court that night. Going into the Missouri game, he wanted more effort out of them. Insell said that he had to sit out Ole Miss’ best player, Faleru, simply due to no effort.
It is hard to conclude if the effort was there or not against Missouri, but it was a better-played game by the Rebels who only turned it over 11 times and forced 18 Missouri turnovers. They did not shoot well in the game at 29 percent from the field.
The NCAA tournament is insignificant at this point for the Rebels. They have lost games they should have won, and they missed opportunities for resume-building wins. They have to focus on beating the cellar-dwelling Tigers and win the most games they can the rest of the season.
Auburn is led in scoring by junior forward Tra’Cee Tanner at 11.9 points per game and six rebounds per game and sophomore guard Brandy Montgomery, averaging 10.8 points per game and reeling in three rebounds per contest. The Tigers’ third leading scorer, senior guard Hasina Muhammed, was kicked off the team due to a violation of team rules. She was averaging nine points per game.
The Tigers are last in the SEC in scoring offense, averaging just over 57 points per game and only shooting 39 percent from the field. The one thing they do well is playing defense. Auburn holds opponents to just over 54 points per game and limits opponents to 37 percent from the field.
Auburn is 7-6 on their home court, so Ole Miss has a good chance to end their current losing streak against the Tigers.
If Ole Miss brings good effort Thursday night like Matt Insell wants and what fans have seen already this season, the Rebels will get out of the plains with a win. Getting a win is big for any team, but for a slumping Ole Miss team, it will come at a good time.
They will need as much renewed confidence as they can muster to salvage a season down this last two-week stretch.
The Rebels are back at home next week for two big home games against 11th ranked Kentucky and a good LSU team, which is 84 in conference play.
