The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Basketball Prepares For Arkansas State
12/12/2000 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2000
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GAME #8
OLE MISS (7-0) vs. Arkansas State (4-3)
DATE: Dec. 14, 2000 TIME: 7:00 p.m.
SITE: Oxford, Miss. RADIO: WTNM 105.5 FM
OLE MISS CONTINUES HOMESTAND AGAINST ARKANSAS STATE Ole Miss (7-0) continues a three-game home-stand with Arkansas State (4-3) Thursday, Dec. 14. Game time is 7:00 p.m. in Tad Smith Coliseum.
ALDY BEGINS FOURTH YEAR Ron Aldy is in his fourth year as the person in charge of rebuilding Ole Miss women's basketball back to where it once was. Aldy has dedicated himself to making Ole Miss a winner on and off the court. After a difficult first season, Aldy guided the team to its 23rd winning season in 199 and a return trip to postseason play. Following a return to postseason play two years ago, the ship appeared to be headed in the right direction for Ole Miss women's basketball. The 1999-2000 season was sailing along with a 10-2 start in non-conference action. Then the Lady Rebels hit SEC play, where they lost seven games by 10 points or less. Injuries began to mount, and the Lady Rebels were unable to get the ship back on course. With more determination and motivation, the Lady Rebels look ahead to the 2000-01 season. Off the court, the Lady Rebels have made tremendous strides academically and in the community. In 1999, Ole Miss led the league with six players named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and in 2000 were second with six. Since Aldy got here, five players have received their bachelor's degrees.
LADY REBELS ON SUPERTALK
MISSISSIPPI 105.5 FM
For the past 15 years, all Lady Rebel home games have been broadcast on WQLJ Q93.7 FM. This year the Lady Rebel games will be broadcast on WTNM Supertalk Mississippi (105.5 FM), with each broadcast beginning 15 minutes prior to the scheduled tip-off. Gary Darby returns for his ninth season as the "Voice of the Lady Rebels".
LADY REBELS RUN RECORD TO 7-0 WITH WIN OVER MIDDLE TENNESSEE Ole Miss defeated Middle Tennessee 72-53 last Wendesday to run its record to 7-0. Von Kirk tied her career-high with 19 points to lead the Lady Rebels. Please see page 2 for boxscore and recap.
HOME SWEET HOME Tad Smith Coliseum has been a good home for the Lady Rebels. Over the last 25 seasons. The Lady Rebels have compiled an impressive 285-55 record for an incredible winning percentage of .838. In their 25 seasons in Tad Smith Coliseum, the Lady Rebels have had four undefeated home seasons in 1978-79 (11-0), 1981-82 (17-0), 1983-84 (13-0) and 1991-92 (14-0).
SCOUTING ARKANSAS STATE Arkansas State enters the game with a 4-3 record. They are coming off a 78-60 win over Southern Mississippi on Dec. 3. The Lady Indians are led by senior guard Keeshia Evans, who is averaging 14.3 points per game. Sophomore forward Jolie McKeirnan leads the team in rebounding at 8.9 per game and also is averaging 14.1 points per game. Arkansas State is averaging 68.9 points per game and allowing opponents 60.4. The Lady Indians are out-rebounding their opponents 41.7 to 36.9. They are shooting 39.9 percent from the floor and are averaging 22.4 turnovers per game.
SERIES RECORD Ole Miss leads the all-time series 6-2. In the last meeting between the two schools, Arkansas State defeated Ole Miss 70-68 in Jonesboro on Feb. 17, 1999. The last time the two teams faced each other in Oxford (Feb. 16, 1998) the Lady Rebels won 85-68. Both of Ole Miss' losses in the series have come in Jonesboro. The Lady Indians defeated the Lady Rebels 62-61 in Jonesboro during the 1992-93 season. Please see page 5 for a recap of the last game played.
COMMON OPPONENTS ... Arkansas State and Ole Miss have three common opponents on their schedules this year. The Lady Indians defeated Tennessee Tech 71-61, while Ole Miss plays them Dec. 31. Ole Miss posted wins over Arkansas-Little Rock (76-74) and Middle Tennessee (72-53), Sunbelt Conference opponents for ASU.
LADY REBELS FROM ARKANSAS The Lady Rebels have three players on this year's team from the state of Arkansas. Sophomores Kayla Madewell and Leah Henley are from Farmington and Warren respectively, while freshman Tywanna Inmon hails from West Memphis. Arkansas State does not have any players from Mississippi on its roster.
THE LAST TIME ... The last time Ole Miss started a season 7-0 was the 1994-95 season. They won 10 straight that year before falling to Vanderbilt 91-54.
VON TIES CAREER HIGH ... Junior forward Von Kirk tied her career-high with 19 points to lead the Lady Rebels past Middle Tennessee 72-53. Kirk went 7-of-12 from the floor including hitting four three-pointers. She scored 19 points against Belmont last year.
TOUGH AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE FOES AT THE TAD PAD ... Ole Miss has won 12 consecutive non-conference games at Tad Smith Coliseum dating back to Nov. 22, 1998. Their last home non-conference loss was against Clemson on Nov. 16, 1998.
TRIPLE DOUBLE ... The Lady Rebels have had three players score in double digits in six of the first seven games.
SPREADING IT AROUND ... The Lady Rebels are more balanced this year and have more depth. Just look at the minutes per game. Of the 14 players that are currently playing, 10 of them are averaging double-digit minutes, including freshman Tywanna Inmon, who is averaging 18.5 minutes per game.
JACKSON NETS CAREER HIGH ... Junior center Saundra Jackson gave us a glimpse of what we should expect from her, scoring a career-high 18 points in the win over Murray State. She went 8-of-11 from the field.
DISHING IT OUT ... Junior guard Sherika Wright has proven she can score, but she can dish it out as well. Wright nabbed a career-best seven assists against Murray State. She had five against Southeastern Louisiana and six versus Middle Tennessee. Wright has four games with at least five assists.
OOPS ... In their first seven games, the Lady Rebels have forced their opponents into an average of 24.2 turnovers per game. Last year, their opponents averaged 18.4 turnovers per game.
TAKE IT AWAY ... In their first seven games, the Lady Rebels are averaging 13.0 steals per game. They only averaged 7.5 last year. Against Southeastern Louisiana, the Lady Rebels recorded a season-best 23 steals.
DEFENSE GETS THE JOB DONE ... Lady Rebel head coach Ron Aldy said that he wanted his team to be more agressive defensively this year, and they are doing something right. The Lady Rebels are outscoring their opponents by a margin of 26.3 points per game. Ole Miss is averaging 82.0 points per game, while its opponents are netting 55.7.
LOOKING FOR THREES ... Last year the Lady Rebels averaged a league-leading 7.25 three-pointers per game. Through the first seven games of this season, the Lady Rebels are only averaging 4.6 threes per game. Senior guard Becky Myatt has half of the Lady Rebels' three-pointers as she is averaging 2.3 treys per game.
COULD IT BE ANOTHER GRAND PLAYER? Senior guard Becky Myatt needs 71 points to become the 19th Lady Rebel to score 1,000 points in a career. She had 12 points in the win over Middle Tennessee and currently has 929 career points.
STARTING AT GUARD Senior guard Becky Myatt has started 94 consecutive games since her freshman year. In addition, Myatt has led the team in minutes played averaging nearly 33 minutes per game.
MYATT FROM DOWNTOWN Becky Myatt has scored at least one three-pointer in 36 of the last 41 games dating back to the Mississippi State game on Feb. 11 of 1999. She has at least one three-pointer in every game this year except Southeastern Louisiana. She had four three-pointers in the win over Murray State.
THREE POINT RECORD IN JEOPARDY Regan Seybert is the all-time leader in three-pointers with 194, a record she set in 1997. But, that record is about to fall as senior Becky Myatt needs only 10 threes to become the career three-point leader. Myatt now has 185 career threes.
STREAK STILL ALIVE Ole Miss hit six three-pointers in the win over Middle Tennessee. They have now hit at least one three-pointer in 183 consecutive games. The NCAA record for consecutive games with at least one three-pointer is 211 held by Tennessee Tech.
CHICKEN ANYONE? The Abner's Chicken promotion returns again this season. If the Lady Rebels hold an opponent to under 50 points or score 100 points in a game, fans receive half off the price of a five-piece chicken plate at Abner's, with their game-day program insert. The Lady Rebels have accomplished this feat twice this year, as they held West Alabama to 45 points and Southeastern Louisiana to only 38 points.
POINTS PER GAME Through seven games, Ole Miss is averaging almost 20 points per game more than last year. The Lady Rebels averaged 64.9 points per game last year and are averaging 82.0 this year.
BETTER PERCENTAGE = MORE POINTS The Lady Rebels are shooting 43.8 percent from the floor through the first seven games of the season. Last year they shot just 36.5 percent.
LADY REBELS LIKE CHARITY The Lady Rebels have been taking advantage of charity this season through the first seven games. They are second in the SEC in free throw percentage. The Lady Rebels are averaging 73.8, up 13.2 points from last year's percentage of 60.6.
OLE MISS IN THE SEC The Lady Rebels rank fifth in the SEC in scoring at 82.0 points per game. Tennessee leads the conference in scoring with 86.6 points per game. Ole Miss is third in scoring margin at +26.0 points per game. They rank third in scoring defense at 56.0 points per game and first in three-point field goal percentage defense at 21.5 percent. The Lady Rebels also rank second in free-throw percentage at 73.8 and fifth in rebounding at 42.0 per game. Ole Miss is second in steals with 13.0 per game.
LADY REBELS AMONG SEC LEADERS Senior Becky Myatt is among the SEC leaders in three-point field goals, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage. She is fourth in three-pointers made per game, fourth in 3-pt field goal percentage and third in free throw percentage. Sherika Wright is fifth in free-throw percentage and Von Kirk is sixth.
LADY REBELS RECEIVING VOTES IN BOTH POLLS Ole Miss received six votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released Monday. They are receiving 44 votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. Seven SEC teams are ranked in both polls.
ANOTHER TOUGH SCHEDULE Two years ago, the Lady Rebels had the 10th toughest schedule in the nation and last year's ranked right up there in the top 25. This year's schedule features 14 teams that made postseason play, including eight NCAA tournament teams. Highlighting the schedule are trips to NCAA participant Vermont Nov. 17-18 and WNIT participant Long Beach State in December. Six SEC teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/ESPN Top 25.
OLE MISS AMONG TOP 20 IN STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE The WBCA/Summerville RPI has produced a preseason strength of schedule for the 2000-01 season and Ole Miss is ranked 16th. The 2000-01 Division I women's basketball strength of schedule was derived from the combined 1999-00 records of the individual schools 2000-01 schedules. The Lady Rebels have had one of the toughest schedules in the nation the last three years.
