Ole Miss women’s basketball blew out the Delta State Lady Statesmen 80-38 in their lone home exhibition matchup at the SJB Pavilion last Friday night.
The new-look Rebels are returning just four members from last year’s NCAA tournament squad which was led by former Rebel and now Washington Mystics Center Shakira Austin.
Senior guard and reigning sixth woman of the year, Angel Baker, led the team in scoring with 18 points and shot 50% from the field.
“I mean we didn’t care who scored. We just wanted to get quality shots,” head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said after the game. “I would like her (Baker) to be more aggressive from the beginning. I felt like it took her a little while, but I’m glad that she stayed level headed. We do expect a 50% night from her so was pleased with that.”
Once Ole Miss was able to settle down and get comfortable, the game was out of reach almost as soon as it started.
Shooting from behind the three point line still seems like an achilles heel for Ole Miss, as they shot for under 30% from behind the arch.
Numbers like those will have to improve in order for the Rebels to build on their successful season last year. McPhee-McCuin understands that well.
“I think we have a lot of work to do but today was the first time for us getting on the lights and that was really good for us,” McPhee-McCuin said after the game. “My team is going to be figuring out who we’re going to be, and how we need to play consistently every single time we step out on the floor. But we had a good week of practice so I expected us to come out with a little bit of fire, and I thought we did that for the most part.”
Ole Miss is coming off a season that fans have not seen in Oxford in a long time. The Rebels had 10 SEC wins, which is second all time in Ole Miss history. The Rebels had its 20th 20-win season, its first time since the 2006-07 season.
The 20 wins was due in large part to a 13-game win streak that started after an ugly home loss to Belmont. The 13-game win streak is the third longest in program history.
Capping it off with a trip to the NCAA tournament, their first time in 15 years, as a seventh seed team. But they were upset by South Dakota State in the first round 71-65.
The Rebels will begin the 2022-2023 campaign at home on Monday Nov. 7 against Kennesaw State. Tip-off is set at 5 p.m. CDT and can be viewed on ESPN+. This will be the first game of a doubleheader with the men’s basketball team playing after the women.
