Lady Tigers head to Mississippi for final pre-SWAC tuneup

OXFORD, Miss. – The Lady Tigers of Texas Southern University head east for their final pre-conference tuneup Thursday when they visit the Rebels of the University of Mississippi. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. The game will be aired online on the SEC Network+.
 
The Lady Tigers are coming off a 72-69 setback at New Orleans last Thursday to head into the Christmas break. Prior to the loss to the Privateers, TSU (5-5) had won its previous four contests.
 
The Lady Tigers are led by junior guard Joyce Kennerson, who ranks second in the nation in scoring with 26.1 points per contest. She is only one-tenth of a point behind Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell.
 
With 1,128 career points, Kennerson is only six points away from tying Darlene Hale for seventh on TSU's all-time women's basketball scoring list. Hale concluded her four-year TSU career in 1982.
 
The second part of TSU's one-two punch is provided by senior guard Kaitlyn Palmer, who has averaged 13.8 points per game. She is coming off a 20-point showing at New Orleans, in which she went 5-for-11 from 3-point range.
 
Palmer has played particularly well away from home, averaging 16.4 points per game in seven contests outside Houston this season. TSU opponents have not figured out a way to stop Palmer's hot hand on the road, as she has made 39.7 percent (25 of 63) of her 3-point tries away from home.
 
Thursday's contest will mark the first time the Lady Tigers have faced Mississippi. TSU is 0-9 against teams from the Southeastern Conference in the NCAA's women's basketball era, dating back to the 1981-82 season. The game will also be the first for TSU against an SEC opponent other than LSU or Arkansas since 1994.
 
The Rebels (9-3) opened the season with nine wins in 10 games, but are coming off back-to-back losses in Oregon prior to Christmas. They dropped a 90-46 contest at Oregon on Dec. 17, and then were upset 94-79 at Big Sky Conference opponent Portland State two days later.
 
Junior guard Madinah Muhammad leads the Rebels with 18.5 points per game. Mississippi's 6-foot-5-inch freshman Promise Taylor averages 10.1 points, and a team-high 6.8 rebounds per contest.