The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Women's Hoops Faces Middle Tennessee Wednesday Night
12/5/2000 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2000
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GAME #7
OLE MISS (6-0) vs.
Middle Tennessee (3-1)
DATE/TIME: Dec. 6, 2000 - 7:00 p.m.
SITE: Oxford, Miss.
RADIO: WTNM 105.5 FM
OLE MISS KICKS OFF THREE-GAME HOMESTAND AGAINST MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Ole Miss kicks off a three-game homestand against Middle Tennessee Wednesday, Dec. 1. Game time is 7:00 p.m. in Tad Smith Coliseum. The Lady Rebels (6-0) are off to their best start since the 1994-95 season when they started 10-0. Middle Tennessee comes in at 3-1.
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 DRILL MURRAY STATE
Ole Miss downed Murray State 85-45 on Sunday behind a great team defensive effort. With the win, they improved to 6-0 on the season by forcing the Lady Racers into a dismal 25 percent from the field.
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 284-55 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 MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Middle Tennessee enters the game with a 3-1 overall record. They are coming off a 91-62 win over Austin Peay. The Lady Raiders also defeated Tennessee State 90-68 and Belmont 74-62. Their lone loss came at UAB, 76-71. Middle Tennessee has four players averaging double figures led by junior forward Jamie Thomatis, who is averaging 21.3 points per game. She is also netting 8.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Paula Penttila is second on the team at 13.0 points per game. The Lady Raiders are averaging 81.5 points per game, while allowing their opponents 67.0. They are also averaging 41.0 rebounds per game. Middle Tennessee is shooting 53.2 percent and holding its opponents to 37.8 percent.
SERIES RECORD
Ole Miss leads the all-time series 11-2. Ole Miss defeated Middle Tennessee 76-44 last year in Oxford. The Lady Rebels only two losses in the series have come in Murfreesboro. Please see page 5 for a recap of last year's game.
COMMON OPPONENTS ...
Middle Tennessee and Ole Miss have four common opponents on their schedules. The Lady Raiders defeated Belmont 74-62 in their second game of the season. Ole Miss plays Belmont on Jan. 16. The Lady Rebels defeated Arkansas-Little Rock 76-74, while Middle Tennessee plays them in the Sunbelt Conference schedule. Both schools also play Tennessee Tech and Arkansas State.
THE LAST TIME ...
The last time Ole Miss started a season 6-0 was the 1994-95 season. They won 10 straight that year before falling to Vanderbilt 91-54.
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, Sunday. She went 8-of-11 from the field. She has scored in double digits the last two games.
DISHING IT OUT ...
Junior guard Sherika Wright has proven she can score as she leads the team in scoring, but she can dish it out as well. Wright nabbed a career-best seven assists against Murray State. She had five against Southeastern Louisiana.
OOPS ...
In their first six games, the Lady Rebels have forced their opponents into an average of 24.5 turnovers per game. Last year, their opponents averaged 18.4 turnovers per game.
TAKE IT AWAY ...
In their first six games, the Lady Rebels are averaging 12.7 steals per game. They only averaged 7.5 last year. Against Southeastern Louisiana, the Lady Rebels recorded 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 27.5 points per game. Ole Miss is averaging 83.7 points per game, while its opponents are netting 56.2
LOOKING FOR THREES ...
Last year the Lady Rebels averaged a league-leading 7.25 three-pointers per game. Through the first six games of this season, the Lady Rebels are only averaging 4.3 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 83 points to become the 19th Lady Rebel to score 1,000 points in a career. She had 14 points in the win over Murray State.
STARTING AT GUARD
Senior guard Becky Myatt has started 93 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 35 of the last 40 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 12 threes to become the career three-pointer leader. Myatt now has 183 career threes.
STREAK STILL ALIVE
Ole Miss hit six three-pointers in the win over Murray State. They have now hit at least one three-pointer in 182 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 sent the fans home happy for the second time this year as they held Southeastern Louisiana to only 38 points. In their home-opener, the Lady Rebels held West Alabama to 45 points.
POINTS PER GAME
Through six 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 83.4 this year.
BETTER PERCENTAGE = MORE POINTS
The Lady Rebels are shooting 43.6 percent from the floor through the first six 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 six games. They are leading the SEC in free throw percentage. The Lady Rebels are averaging 73.9, up 13.3 points from last year's percentage of 60.6.
OLE MISS IN THE SEC
The Lady Rebels rank fourth in the SEC in scoring at 83.7 points per game. Tennessee leads the conference in scoring with 92.8 points per game. Ole Miss is third in scoring margin at +27.2 points per game. They rank third in scoring defense at 56.5 points per game and second in free throw percentage at 73.9 percent. The Lady Rebels also rank second in rebounding at 47.7 per game and in rebounding margin at +11.0 rebounds per game. Ole Miss is third in steals with 12.67 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 third in three-pointers made per game, fourth in 3-pt field goal percentage and tied fourth in free throw percentage. Sherika Wright is seventh in free-throw percentage, Von Kirk is tied for eighth, and Tywanna Inmon is 10th.
LADY REBELS RECEIVING VOTES IN BOTH POLLS AGAIN
Ole Miss received nine votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released Monday. They are receiving 23 votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. Seven SEC teams are ranked in the AP Poll, with Ole Miss and Alabama receiving votes.
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.
NOVEMBER GAMES ...
The Lady Rebels are 56-16 all-time (.777 winning percentage) in the month of November including a 4-0 record this year in November.
MORE IMPRESSIVE IN DECEMBER GAMES
December is supposed to be a time of giving, but the Lady Rebels have not been in the giving mood very often in the month of December. They are 158-39 all-time (.802 winning percentage) in the month of December.
TRAVELING WITH THE LADY REBELS
The Lady Rebels are one of the most well-traveled teams in the nation, having visited 33 states including Washington, D.C., and Aruba and Puerto Rico. This year, the Lady Rebels visited Vermont for the first time. In December they will travel to California for the Beach Classic.
FRESHMAN SCORES A DOUBLE DIP
Freshman forward Tywanna Inmon scored her first career double-double in the win over West Alabama. Inmon played 17 minutes and tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds. Both are career highs. Inmon is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 11.5 points and leads the team in rebounding at 6.5 per game.
HENLEY NETS CAREER HIGH
Sophomore Leah Henley grabbed a career-high eight rebounds against West Alabama, to go along with four points, one assist, one steal and one block in 15 minutes of action. Her previous high was three rebounds against Cal-Poly last year.
LADY REBELS GOLDEN IN WIN OVER TIGERS
The Lady Rebels 50-point margin against West Alabama, tied for the ninth widest margin of victory in the history of the program. Ole Miss defeated Montevallo 100-50 on Dec. 3, 1977.
OLE MISS WINS VERMONT HOWARD BANK CLASSIC
The Lady Rebels, behind the stellar guard play of Becky Myatt Von Kirk, and Sherika Wright, captured the Vermont Howard Bank Classic this past weekend in Burlington, Vt. Myatt scored 23 points including two key three-pointers at the end of the game to lead the Lady Rebels to an 85-75 win over Vermont in the championship game. She also had seven rebounds to earn tournament MVP honors. Kirk, who tallied 17 points was also named to the All-Tournament team. Wright scored in double digits both nights with 20 and 16 points respectively. Ole Miss downed Radford University in the first round 91-62.
OLE MISS SUCCESSFUL IN REGULAR SEASON TOURNAMENTS
With their Howard Bank Classic title, the Lady Rebels have won 35 regular season tournament titles. Ole Miss now owns a 105-26 record in regular season tournaments. The Lady Rebels downed Radford University 91-62 in the first round and then defeated Vermont 85-75 in the championship game.
MYATT GARNERS SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Senior guard Becky Myatt was rewarded again, for her outstanding play in the Vermont Howard Bank Classic by being named the SEC Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 20. Myatt averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. She sank two crucial three-pointers with just over four minutes remaining in the championship game to seal the title for the Lady Rebels. Myatt is the ninth Lady Rebel to be named SEC Player of the Week and the first since Tarsha Bethley earned the honor in November of 1998.
MYATT NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-SEC TEAM
Senior guard Becky Myatt was named to the 2000-01 preseason All-SEC second team. The team was voted on by the media members attending SEC Media Days Nov. 1-2 in Birmingham. Myatt is one of six guards on either the first or second team. Myatt averaged 9.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last year. She ranked among the top five in the SEC in three-pointers per game.
IMPRESSIVE OUTSIDE THE SEC
The Lady Rebels have compiled an impressive record outside the Southeastern Conference in regular-season play since 1990. Ole Miss owns a 126-48 record (.818 winning percentage) versus non-conference teams since 1990. The Lady Rebels' best non-conference record since came during the 1991-92 SEC Championship season, as they compiled a 15-1 mark versus non-conference foes. The Lady Rebels have an overall 46-9 record (.836 winning percentage) versus non-conference opponents on this year's schedule.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
Ole Miss will appear on television twice this year. FoxSportsNetSouth will televise the Lady Rebels' game against Auburn on Feb. 18 in Tad Smith Coliseum. College Sports Southeast will show the game at Mississippi State on Feb. 1 tape delayed.
INJURIES
Sophomore center Shayla Day is out with problems in her feet.
TIP-INS
Senior Stephanie Murphy graduated last year and is taking graduate courses...She is also serving as a minister at Providence Methodist Church...Murphy gave her first sermon on Oct. 15...Chandra Dorsey, a Criminal Justice major, interned this summer with the University Police Department ...Takela Corbitt attended the NCAA Leadership conference this summer.
