Just like the famous Van Morrison song said, Matt Insell knew his team would have days like the one it had Thursday night.
The Ole Miss women’s basketball team shot 24.3 percent in the first half and trailed Western Kentucky by 24 points. The Rebels played much better in the second half, but the first 20 minutes helped set the stage for a 98-69 loss at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
“Our experienced players have to play like experienced players early in games on the road,” Insell said. “We did not do that. We got frustrated by some fouls that were called and young kids started questioning themselves and how they were playing. That stuff started to calculate up on us. Everything that could have went wrong in the first half went wrong.”
Things won’t get any easier for Ole Miss (6-2) at 2 p.m. today when it plays host to No. 11 Baylor (5-1) at Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford. The game will be available on SECN+ and on the WatchESPN app. Last season, Ole Miss played Baylor tough before losing 87-80 on Dec. 18, 2013, in Waco, Texas. That game featured eight lead changes and 10 ties.
This season, both teams will have a different look. Ole Miss is adjusting to life without point guard Valencia McFarland, who had 17 points, 12 assists, and nine rebounds against Baylor last season. Baylor is trying to establish a new identity after losing senior guard Odyssey Sims to graduation. Sims had a game-high 39 points against Ole Miss last season. She paced the team in scoring with 28.5 points per game a year ago.
For Insell, the adjustment this season means going through the growing pains associated with having six freshmen and one transfer — sophomore Erika Sisk, who is an Oxford native — play key roles. Insell said part of that youth was on display against WKU, as Ole Miss was called for 31 fouls, which allowed WKU to go 35 of 45 from the free-throw line. The good thing about having so many young players, though, is they quickly forget performances like that and can move on to the next challenge, Insell said. The key, he said, is getting leaders like Tia Faleru, who had nine points and eight rebounds. Freshman Kiara Golden led Ole Miss with a career-high 19 points.
“We will grow from it,” Insell said. “Western Kentucky has a good basketball team, but they’re not 29 points better than us. I don’t think they’re better than us. The more we grow, the better we’re going to get. We played like a very, very young basketball team on the road.”
Insell said the strategy of scheduling games against WKU and Baylor so close together gives his team to get an early sense of what Southeastern Conference weekends will be like. In the SEC, teams typically play games on Thursday nights and on Sunday afternoons, so there isn’t much time to put forgettable efforts behind you. Insell said he has stressed to his players that a key is how the respond after games like the loss to WKU that will determine how much success the Rebels will have this season. Despite the loss, Insell feels his team has the potential, the athleticism, and the depth to advance to the postseason. Last season, Ole Miss finished 12-20 (2-14 in the SEC) in Insell’s first season as head coach.
“When the game was over I told them to flush it,” said Insell, who helped coach Matthew Mitchell build Kentucky into a SEC and a national power as an assistant coach. “I told them we will be better and they we’re going to have games like that in the SEC. … We had some good things happen. Kiara Golden got her chance and played really, really well Shandricka Sessom put two good games back to back. Kelsey Briggs played pretty good. I like how the kids are growing up.”
The Rebels’ inexperience and mettle will be put to the test this afternoon. Insell hopes having a nationally ranked team up next will help his players re-focus even faster. He also feels his team’s close game against the Bears last season will give it confidence things can be different today, especially with it being a home game. That being said, Insell also knows Baylor is a very good team and that his players can’t afford to miss at least 10 uncontested layups like they did against WKU or have a slow start like they had Thursday night in Kentucky.
“Baylor is going to come in a little extra motivated,” Insell said. “They lost Odyssey Sims. We lost a good player in Valencia McFarland. We have to come in with extreme focus. If we do that we will have a chance.”
Insell believes his team will do that because he has seen his young players respond to challenges in practice and early in the season. In fact, he said when they play even better when the competition steps up, which it should today.
“They know Baylor is real good,” Insell said. “They know Baylor was a good team last year (32-5 and advanced to the NCAA tournament regionals) and they stepped up to the challenge when they played them. I see us doing the same thing this year.”
NOTE: The game is Ole Miss’ second-annual church game, which means fans who bring their church bulletin will receive free admission. Fans also can get free tickets from Ole Miss’ corporate sponsors. For a list of corporate sponsors, go to the Ole Miss web site at www.olemisssports.com.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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