OXFORD — Erika Sisk helped close Tad Smith Coliseum with a kiss Sunday afternoon.
The Oxford native then added to her dash to history with a round of hugs for about 100 of her church friends and fans of the Ole Miss women’s basketball team who were in attendance for the final basketball game at Tad Smith Coliseum.
The only hiccup was Sisk had to pause halfway up the staircase to one of the concourses to sit down and shake out a cramp in her right leg.
The cramp didn’t prevent Sisk from making sure all of the well wishers received hugs before she posed for a picture with some of the Rebels’ supporters. The timing was perfect. As Sisk wrapped her arms around the fans and unveiled her biggest smile, a tribute video featuring some of the best moments in Tad Smith Coliseum history played on the scoreboard that hung above center court.
Sisk will have to make sure her sprint to the rim gets edited into the final version of the video because she helped close the longtime venue in style.
Sisk converted a three-point play with 1.5 seconds remaining to help Ole Miss complete a 55-52 comeback against Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams before a crowd of 1,283.
“Coach (Matt Insell) just said, ‘Take it on the run,’ ” Sisk said. “He said, ‘You have three seconds,’ and I knew that was easy to get to the rim for me.”
Sisk’s layup off an inbounds pass from Shandricka Sessom helped Ole Miss (9-5) rally from a nine-point deficit with less than six minutes remaining. The victory enabled Ole Miss to finish with a record of 410-126 in 42 seasons in the building, which was known as Rebel Coliseum when it opened Feb. 21, 1966. It as re-named C.M. “Tad” Smith Coliseum on March 25, 1972, for Smith, a three-sport letterman who was a standout tailback for the Rebels from 1926-28.
Ole Miss had a chance to win thanks to a handful of clutch plays and a little help from Vanderbilt (11-3) in the final minute. Trailing 52-48 with 1:00 to go, Ole Miss regained possession after Vanderbilt committed to a turnover in a half-court set. Sessom capitalized on the next possession by hitting two free throws with 39.2 seconds left. With only two teams fouls, Insell elected not to have his players foul three times to push Vanderbilt to the free-throw line. The move paid off as Jasmine Jenkins missed a drive and Ole Miss collected the rebound.
Following a timeout, Ole Miss went to Sessom, who missed a right-handed hook shot on a drive to right side, but Shequila Joseph was fouled in the lane going for the rebound. The junior forward drained two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining to tie the game.
“If it wasn’t for her with those two free throws, we wouldn’t have been where we were,” Sisk said. “I knew she was going to knock them down.”
Vanderbilt had time to set up a potential game-winning play, but Ole Miss called a timeout. Insell said assistant coach Todd Schaefer knew what play the Commodores were going to run, so the coaches instructed the players not to switch on screens. That move also worked as the inbounds pass went untouched out of bounds on the other side of the court for the Commodores’ season-high 26th turnover.
The turnover allowed Ole Miss to inbound the basketball from the same spot to the left of the Vanderbilt bench and to the right of center court. Sisk, a transfer from Murray State who is in her second season at Ole Miss, was the ideal pick to take the pass. After all, in a video of rapid fire questions earlier in the game, Joseph said Sisk was the fastest player on the team, so it seemed only fitting that the 5-foot-8 junior guard took the pass from Sessom and raced past Vanderbilt’s Rachel Bell on the left wing. She admitted after the game she was “scared” to be going toward the basket using her left hand because she had missed an open layup on the left side following a steal in the third quarter. But Insell knew Sisk was going to come up big in a clutch moment.
“I told Erika on the last play, if they back up, run over somebody. Go run over somebody because if they call an offensive foul they aren’t shooting so it doesn’t matter,” Insell said. “She did that and got and-one, and it was an unbelievable play from that kid. I’m so proud of her. She had about a thousand people here watching, but that’s what Oxford is supposed to do. When you have one of your own at home, you’re supposed to come out. That’s just an unbelievable play from her.”
Sisk said “toughness” was a key ingredient in the victory. She epitomized that quality by going 6 of 9 from the field and the free-throw line, making six steals, and handing out three assists in 37 minutes. She joined Sessom and Joseph (12 points) as the only Rebels in double figures. Bretta Hart added nine points and four rebounds off the bench.
“I knew my team needed me, so I did what I had to do,” Sisk said. “I don’t remember (anything about the final shot). The only thing I knew was drive the ball and score. I didn’t even know I got fouled. I just knew it had to be Erika Sisk drive to the goal and try to make a layup, and that’s what I did.”
Christa Reed, a former Gatorade Mississippi Player of the Year from Bay High School, led Vanderbilt with 16 points. She was the team’s only player in double figures.
The win gave Ole Miss its second-consecutive SEC-opening win for the first time since winning back-to-back openers in 2002 and 2003. The victory could turn out to be huge for Ole Miss, which started the season 1-3 and is now on a three-game winning streak.
Ole Miss faced its largest deficit, 47-35, on a 3-pointer by Reed with 7:03 to play in the fourth quarter. But the Rebels turned up the defensive pressure in the final stretch and used steals by Sisk and Joseph to fuel the run. A drive by Sessom, a 3-pointer by Joseph from the left corner, and another drive by Sessom with the right hand moved Ole Miss within one possession. A 3-pointer by Reed extended Vanderbilt’s lead to 52-48 and set the stage for the wild finish.
“I’ve been coaching in this league now for nine seasons, and I’ve been a part of a lot of unbelievable wins,” said Insell, whose team earned its first victory against Vanderbilt since 2011. “I’ve beaten Tennessee at the buzzer, Kentucky, and LSU. I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of a win like that.”
Ole Miss will play Thursday at LSU before returning home Sunday to play host to Florida in its first game at The Pavilion at Ole Miss, the school’s new basketball venue.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportsditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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