Memphis Area Talent Rebuilding Ole Miss Womens Program

I did not realize how many Memphis area players had signed with Ole Miss until I read the article below, Women's Basketball Adds Three in Spring Signing Period, from the Ole Miss athletics site.

Five of the 6 players have ties to Memphis. They are either from the Memphis area or played on a Memphis AAU/Travel team.

I am super excited about this. Just think about it. If Ole Miss turn things around (which I believe they are already doing) with all that Memphis area talent in the program, it means great things for current and future Memphis middle and high school girls basketball players. You may not understand what I'm saying but believe me....I will be making a few runs to Oxford to check out some games next season...


Head women’s basketball coach Matt Insell added three players to the Ole Miss women’s basketball team on Wednesday (April 30). Insell announced that Kelsey Briggs (Memphis, Tenn./Overton HS), Kiara Golden (Olive Branch, Miss./Center Hill HS) and Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss./Murray State/Oxford HS) will join the team for the 2014-15 season.

The trio will join Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss./Byhalia), A’Queen Hayes (Horn Lake, Miss./Horn Lake) and Toree Thompson (Broken Arrow, Okla./Broken Arrow HS) who signed with the Rebels during the early singing period in November.

“I’m really excited about the three young ladies that we’ve signed this spring. Adding these three with the three players that we already have makes for a great six-player class for us,” said Insell. “It helps us move forward in getting our program back to the top of the SEC. This group, in addition to Shandricka, A’Queen and Toree, adds depth and brings athleticism in terms of our playing style. I’m really excited about this group and can’t wait to see them grow.”

Briggs, who initially signed with Georgetown in 2012, hails from Memphis where she played her high school basketball at both Overton and Freedom Hill. As a senior at Overton, Briggs was ranked No. 44 at her position by ESPN HoopGurlz and No. 235 by Blue Star Report, while averaging 9.6 points. The 6-2 guard played her AAU basketball with Memphis Elite.

“Kelsey Briggs is one of the most talented forwards in the country,” said Insell. “At 6-3 she can play inside and outside. She and can really shoot the three and get on the block. She’s one of the more talented and versatile players in the country in this class. We’re really excited about her future, especially being able to play multiple positions with her size, length and athleticism. She can be an immediate impact right way.”

Golden is one of four native Mississippian’s that will join the Rebels next fall. Golden comes to Ole Miss from Center Hill High School in Olive Branch, where she led her team to a 20-9 record as a senior. The four-year letterwinner averaged 22 points and 6.0 rebounds as a senior while contributing 3.5 steals and 2.0 assists per contest. Golden was named to the Clarion-Ledgers “Dandy Dozen” a list that also featured her future Ole Miss teammates Shandricka Sessom and A’Queen Hayes. She also helped her prep squad to three 5A District titles and reached the state semifinals as a sophomore. Golden comes from a basketball background as her father, Lamarcus Golden played his collegiate basketball at Tennessee and she is the cousin of former NBA player Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway.

“Kiara Golden brings athleticism to our program, said Insell. “We’re trying to make a major upgrade in, in terms of athleticism on the perimeter and continuing to add athletic players on the perimeter was a priority for us in this class. Kiara Golden is exactly that. She’s a left-handed guard that can play multiple positions. She has great size and length and can really score the basketball in a lot of ways. She can take it to the rim and shoot the three and will fit exactly what we want to do defensively. She also comes from a basketball family. Her father played at Tennessee and played professional basketball overseas. Her cousin is Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, who played at Memphis and professionally in the NBA. We’re excited about joining our program.”


Oxford native and 2013 Ohio Valley Freshman of the Year, Sisk returns to her hometown when she joins the Ole Miss women’s basketball team for the 2014-15 season. Sisk, who spent the 2012-13 season at Murray State, was the OVC Freshman of the Year and was named to the league’s All-Newcomer squad. During her season with the Racers, Sisk averaged 13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 steals and earned OVC Freshman of the Week accolades a record nine times. Sisk was a standout in basketball and track during her prep career at Oxford High School. She helped lead the Chargers to three straight state tournaments and a 33-0 undefeated season and state title in 2012. She is a two-time Oxford Eagle Player of the Year and was named to 2011 and 2012 Clarion-Ledger "Dandy Dozen" and 2012 Clarion-Ledger All-State first team. Additionally, Sisk was selected to Alabama vs. Mississippi and NEMBCA All-Star games. As a senior, she averaged 23.0 points, 6.0 steals, 5.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. On the track she was named 2012 Gatorade Girls' Track & Field Athlete of the Year for Mississippi and led Oxford to three state team titles in track & field. She holds five OHS records including a 40-2 triple jump, while winning the state championship in triple jump in 2012. A four-year honor roll student, she received 2012 "Pop Star" award from Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame for top athlete overall in the state.

Sisk, who has been at Ole Miss for the past year, is currently competing on the track and field team and helped break a 25-year old school record in the 4x200 meter relay during the indoor season.
“Erika is transferring to us from Murray State where she had a lot of success playing there,” said Insell. “She someone very family with Oxford, having grown up here and won a state championship at Oxford High School. I watched her play a lot her freshman year at Murray State when I was at Kentucky and I was really impressed with her there. She was OVC Freshman of the Year and she put up big numbers against teams like Missouri, who is in our league. She brings athleticism. She can guard in the full court, and can score in multiple ways. She has a lot of great things about her game that fit with us both offensively and defensively. She’s running track right now for Coach O’Neal and she will join with us this summer and will rejoin the track team once our season is over next year.”


Release on Ole Miss Early Signees (Nov. 20)