The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Basketball To Face Western Kentucky in WNIT
3/11/2001 | Women's Basketball
March 11, 2001
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's basketball team will face Western Kentucky in the first round of the Women's NIT in Bowling Green, Ky. The game will be played March 14 at 7:00 p.m.
This marks the Lady Rebels 16th postseason appearance. They have been to the NCAA Tournament 14 times and the WNIT in 1999. The Lady Rebels are one of nine SEC teams to qualify for postseason play this year, with six in the NCAA Tournament and three in the WNIT. Alabama and Mississippi State are the other two teams in the WNIT.
"We are looking forward to playing in the tournament," head coach Ron Aldy said. "Traditionally Western Kentucky has a very strong team. They usually make the NCAA Tournament. Western is renowned for its crowds and we expect them to have a tremendous crowd. It will be a tough first-round game."
Ole Miss finished the regular season at 17-12 overall and defeated South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Tournament, before losing to eventual champion Georgia in the quarterfinal round.
Lady Rebel senior guard Becky Myatt leads the team with 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 three-pointers per game. She was named to the Associated Press All-SEC Honorable Mention team.
Western Kentucky posted a final regular-season record of 17-13 and lost to Louisiana Tech in the first round of the Sunbelt Conference Tournament. The Hilltoppers are led by junior guard Natalie Powers, who averages 22.0 points per game. Senior center ShaRae Mansfield is second on the team at 19.0 points and a team-leading 9.2 rebounds per game.
Ole Miss and Western Kentucky have met four times previously with the series knotted at 2-2. The last time the two teams met was during the 1993-94 season in the championship game of the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico, with WKU winning 78-62. The two teams have met once in postseason. The Hilltoppers defeated Ole Miss 72-68 in the NCAA Elite Eight in 1985. Ole Miss won the only meeting in Bowling Green, a 66-61 victory on Jan. 5, 1983.
