MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Junior forward Shequila Joseph (London, England) posted 20 points and scored 14 points in the third quarter but it wasn’t enough for the Ole Miss women’s basketball team fell 84-75 to Middle Tennessee State on Sunday in the third and final installment of Insell vs. Insell.

In her first start since the 2014-15 season-opener, Joseph posted her second consecutive game in double figures and her first back-to-back game in double figures since her freshman season.

Ole Miss (1-3) went to work on the defensive end in the fourth quarter and after trailing by as many as 23 points clawed their way back into the game in the fourth quarter getting as close to nine points in the fourth, but they couldn’t overcome the Raiders, 14 three-point field goals in the loss.

Ole Miss trailed by nine at halftime, but that lead swelled to 23 points by the fourth quarter as the home team recorded 29 third quarter points, led by 11 from Brea Edwards including nine points from long range but Ole Miss clawed its way back in with the help of 10 points of the bench from Kiara Golden (Olive Branch, Miss.) and nine from freshman Alissa Alston (New Haven, Conn.).

Rebounding and three-point shooting were the tale of the game. Ole Miss entered the game averaging 50.3 rebounds per game, but was held to just 39 in today’s contest and lost the rebounding battle, 47-39.  Additionally, the Blue Raiders nailed 14 triples becoming the second consecutive opponent to reach double-digit three-point field goals.

Back and forth
The Rebels opened the game on a tear, scoring the first two buckets before the home team got going with a bucket from Brea Edwards. The first quarter was a chess match as neither team could take more than a two-possession lead throughout. Ole Miss’ leading scorer, Sessom led the way with nine first quarter points.  At the first quarter media timeout, Ole Miss held a slim 13-11 lead and from that point the teams exchanged buckets the rest of the quarter with and the Rebels took a two-point, 22-20 lead at the end of the quarter.

Ole Miss’ defense seemed to get back on track in the contest, as the Rebels forced Middle Tennessee into 11 first half turnovers resulting in five points. Additionally, Ole Miss’ athleticism was on display as they recorded four fast break points.

In the final 4:50 of the second quarter, Middle Tennessee used a 9-0 run to take a 25-32 lead, but Ole Miss dug in on defense forcing two turnovers and a big charge from freshman Torri Lewis (Olive Branch, Miss.) late in the half.