Rebels Fall At No.4 Mississippi State

Ole Miss battled back to make it interesting late in the fourth quarter but couldn’t get over the hump as they dropped a 73-62 contest to the No. 4-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs on Monday night.

Trailing by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss used a 10-4 spurt sparked by a three-point play from and a triple from Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) to get the lead to 15 points. The Rebels came as close as 10 points with 2:10 remaining but couldn’t overcome a cold start to steal the win in Starkville.
Sessom led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds for her 14th game in double figures, while Alissa Alston (New Haven, Conn.) added 14 points for her third game in double figures and second against an SEC foe. Ole Miss shot held a 34-24 advantage in the paint and the Rebels bench outscored their counterparts, 26-6.
Ole Miss started the third quarter with the ball and came out and got a great look at a triple and a bucket inside but couldn’t get anything to fall. The home team ran its lead up to 46-31 at the third-quarter media timeout. The Rebels had their most consistent success in transition with Alston leading the break, which led to points in the paint for the Rebels. Ole Miss held the Bulldogs at bay for the most part and got close with a 8-0 run, but Victoria Vivians hit back-to-back big shots to spark a 6-0 State run late in the quarter as they took a 52-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
It was a fast start to the game as Mississippi State got on the board just 15 seconds in with a bucket from Morgan Williams, but Ole Miss responded with a bucket from Sessom and the teams started to battle on the defensive end. The Bulldogs used a 6-0 run over a span of 1:30 to pull ahead, 12-4 at the first media timeout. Ole Miss struggled in the first quarter with 10 turnovers, which led to seven Mississippi State points and a 22-8 State lead at the end of one quarter of play.
Alston provided a spark off the bench in the first half, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. She added five points in the first half and was in on just about every defensive stop. Finding themselves trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half, the Rebels rattled off six straight points over the final 1:06 of play to cut the MSU lead to 36-25 at the halftime break. Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss.) scored four of those six points during the run, while Sessom added a pair of free throws at the end of the half. After being outscored 22-8 in the first quarter, Ole Miss held a 17-14 advantage in the second frame.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports