The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Basketball Game Notes
2/9/2002 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2002
LADY REBEL GAME NOTES
LADY REBELS HOST FLORIDA ON SUNDAY: The Lady Rebels (11-12, 3-7) will be looking to win back-to-back after defeating Kentucky, 76-66 on Thursday. Ole Miss has won two-out-of their last three games with a win over No.23-ranked Auburn, 63-53, last week and the win over Kentucky in their last outing. Ole Miss will take on UF (15-7, 5-4) at 2 p.m., Sunday in Tad Smith Coliseum.
ALDY IN FIFTH YEAR: Ron Aldy is in his fifth year (67-73 at Ole Miss, 146-113 all-time) at the helm of the Lady Rebel basketball program. After having achieved success on every level as either a head coach or an assistant coach, Aldy has used his knowledge and love of the game to bring the storied Ole Miss basketball program back to national prominence. He has dedicated himself to making Ole Miss a winner on and off the court. Aldy has guided the Lady Rebels to postseason play in two of his four seasons in Oxford. He led Ole Miss to a 17-13 overall record and a trip to the WNIT in 2000-01. Off the court, the Lady Rebels have made tremendous strides academically and in the community, as well. Ole Miss has placed six players on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in each of the last three seasons. Since Aldy came to Oxford, all of his outgoing seniors have received their bachelor's degrees with the exception of one, who will graduate in December. Aldy and his staff have seen to it that the Lady Rebels get involved in the Oxford community. The Ole Miss players have helped build a community playground, visited the elderly and participated in many other activities in the area.
LADY REBELS ON SUPERTALK MISSISSIPPI 105.5 FM: This season 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. Brad Daniels is in his first season as the "Voice of the Lady Rebels". Daniels currently serves as news and sports director at WQLJ-FM 93.7 in Oxford.
OLE MISS DEFEATS UK, 76-66: The Lady Rebels got their second victory out of the last three games by defeating Kentucky, 76-66, in Tad Smith Coliseum on Thursday. Senior Von Kirk made 5-of-7 three-point baskets and 9-of-9 free throws for a career-high 24 points to lead the Ole Miss. The Lady Rebels led by six points at the half, but let UK take control early in the second half. The Wildcats took a four point lead early in the second fram at 39-35 before Ole Miss regrouped and regained control of the game behind Kirk and senior Sherika Wright's offense and defense. Wright finished the game with 18 points and four assists. Kirk added six rebounds to her offensive output. Freshman Carletta Brown had 12 points and four assists and senior TaShondrea Moton led the Lady Rebels on the boards with seven. Ole Miss shot 46.3 percent from the field and made 21-of-24 free throws.
SCOUTING FLORIDA: Florida (15-7, 5-4) heads into Sunday's contest after a week's worth of rest. The Lady Gators have not played since last Sunday's 69-59 loss at South Carolina The Lady Gators are led by sophomore center Vanessa Hayden who averages team bests in points (17.7), rebounds (12.0) and blocks (4.5). Senior guard Brandi McCain also averages double figures in points with 15.6 per game and leads the team in assists with 5.1 per game. The Lady Gators are out-rebounding opponents by 4.2 boards per game and collect 10.8 steals per contest. Florida head coach Carol Ross played for Ole Miss head coach Ron Aldy at Kirk Academy in Grenada, Miss.
SERIES RECORD: This will be the 19th meeting between the two schools and the second of two meetings this season. UF defeated Ole Miss, 75-73, in Gainesville, on Jan. 20. The two teams met just once last season with the Lady Gators winning 71-65 in Oxford. Ole Miss head coach Ron Aldy is 0-5 versus UF. See page three for a boxscore from the last meeting between the two schools.
OLE MISS VS. FLORIDA SCHOOLS: Ole Miss owns a 18-13 record (.581 winning percentage) versus schools from the Sunshine state. The following is a list of schools from Florida that Ole Miss has played and their record against those schools.
Team RecordCentral Florida 3-0Florida 8-10Florida Atlantic 1-1Florida International 2-0Florida State 3-2Stetson 1-0Total 18-13
OLE MISS-FLORIDA TIES: The Lady Rebels do not have any natives of Florida on their roster. Ole Miss senior Von Kirk and Lady Gator redshirt-freshman Tara Taylor were high school teammates at Butler High School in Huntsville, Ala. Seniors Sherika Wright and Saundra Jackson both played at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Fla., before transferring to Ole Miss last season. Ole Miss head coach Ron Aldy is a former member of the Lady Gator basketball staff. Aldy served as associate head coach under Carol Ross from 1992-97. Aldy's daughter Brittany, a Lady Rebel manager, went to high school in Gainesville, graduating from Oak Hill High School. UF head coach Carol Ross is a Mississippi native. Ross graduated from Kirk Academy in Grenada, Miss., where she was coached by Aldy. Ross is a cousin of Ole Miss football equipment manager John Ross.
COMMON OPPONENTS: Outside of the SEC schedule, Ole Miss and UF do not share any common opponents.
HOME SWEET HOME: After playing 14-of-22 games this season on the road, Ole Miss will be hosting Kentucky and Florida this week at Tad Smith Coliseum. The Tad Pad has been a good home for the Lady Rebels. Over the last 26 seasons, the Lady Rebels have compiled an impressive 295-66 record for an incredible winning percentage of .817. In their 26 seasons in the Tad Pad, the Lady Rebels have had four undefeated home seasons in 1978-79 (11-0), 1981-81 (17-0), 1983-84 (13-0) and 1991-92 (14-0). The Lady Rebels are 6-3 in Tad Smith Coliseum so far this season.
LADY REBELS DOING IT IN THE CLASSROOM: Ole Miss is making good marks in the classroom as well as the basketball court as seven Lady Rebels earned honor roll status. Freshman Ally Kelly made a perfect 4.0 grade point average in her first semester at Ole Miss, earning a spot on the Chancellor's Honor Roll (3.75-4.0). Sophomore Kim Ufford made the Dean's Honor Roll (3.50-3.74). Freshman Carletta Brown, sophomores Tenisha Gist and Tywanna Inmon and seniors Von Kirk and TaShondrea Moton each earned a place on the U.M.A.A. Honor Roll (3.00-3.49). In addition to the players making good grades, managers Brittany Aldy and Tiffany Gray each made the Chancellor's Honor Roll and medical redshirt Shayla Day earned U.M.A.A. honors.
CAPTAIN KIRK: Ole Miss senior guard Von Kirk has provided an offensive punch for the Lady Rebels as of late. Kirk who was taken out of the starting line-up prior to the Lady Rebels' Jan. 20 game at Florida, has since taken her game to another level. Kirk has averaged 13.2 points and 4.3 rebounds during the last six games. The 5-10 guard has also hit 17-of-32 three-pointers (53.1 percent) and 22-of-25 (88.0 percent) free throws during the stretch. Kirk has also averaged 2.0 steals per game.
DOWNTOWN CARLETTA BROWN: Ole Miss freshman guard Carletta Brown has been making opponents pay for backing off her. Brown has nailed 16 three-point shots over the last nine games for Ole Miss and has 22 three-pointers on the season. Brown averages 7.2 points per game in just over 17 minutes of action on the season, but has upped her average to 10.0 poinst per game in SEC play. The 5-4 Roxie, Miss., native has scored in double figures in eight games this season with a career-high 17 points versus Georgia on Jan. 24. Brown's offensive fire power has led her into Ole Miss' starting line-up the last six games.
MORE FROM DOWNTOWN BROWN: Carletta Brown has really stepped up her intensity since being inserted into the starting line-up six games ago. Brown has averaged 12.3 points per game since becoming a starter compared to just 5.4 points in the first 17 games of the season. Brown has made 10-of-31 three-point shots during the six-game stretch, good for 32.3 percent and has also dished out 19 assists. She has played an average of 27.2 minutes compared to 14.0 minutes as a non-starter.
CHARITABLE LADY REBELS: The Ole Miss guards are making the most of their opportunities at the free-throw line as they are making over 70 percent of their foul shots. Brown has hit 28-of-35 from the line for 80.0 percent and Henley has made 6-of-8 from the line for 75.0 percent. Kelly has hit 38-of-48 from the stripe for 79.2 percent and Kirk has made 53-of-62 from the charity stripe for 85.5 percent. Wright rounds out the group of good-shooting guards as she has made 53-of-74 from the free-throw line for 71.6 percent. Brown was 4-4 from the charity stripe in the closing minutes of Ole Miss' win over Auburn. Her free throws helped seal the win for the Lady Rebels.
PUTTING UP THE POINTS: Ole Miss is averaging 70.9 points per game so far this season. The Lady Rebels managed 68.6 points per game last season. Ole Miss has gone over the century mark twice during the first 14 games of the season. They defeated Arkansas-Little Rock, 101-57, and recently beat Fairleigh Dickinson, 105-46. The 59-point victory over Fairleigh Dickinson was the third largest margin of victory in the history of the Lady Rebel program.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Lady Rebels are getting solid production from a number of players. Eight players are averaging more than five points per game. TaShondrea Moton (5.3), Amber Watts (5.5), Carletta Brown (7.2), Tywanna Inmon (6.1), Saundra Jackson (8.9), Von Kirk (10.5), Ally Kelly (10.5) and Sherika Wright (11.0) are all capable scorers, making it difficult for opposing defenses to know who to guard. Seven of the eight players have led the team in scoring.
LADY REBELS CAPTURE GRAN TREE THANKSGIVING CLASSIC TITLE: Ole Miss defeated Montana State, 66-59, and UW-Milwuakee, 74-57, to claim the 2001 Gran Tree Thanksgiving Classic title. The Lady Rebels used a balanced scoring attack in the tournament as five different players scored in double figures over the weekend. Senior Von Kirk was named MVP of the tournament and freshman Ally Kelly joined Kirk on the All-Tournament team. In addition to playing in the tournament, the Ole Miss team also took in the sights of the beautiful state of Montana. The Lady Rebels spent Thanksgiving Day at Big Sky ski resort.
OLE MISS SUCCESSFUL IN REGULAR SEASON TOURNAMENTS: Ole Miss owns a 111-28 record in regular season tournaments. The Lady Rebels have won 37 tournament titles, including the 2001 Gran Tree Thanksgiving Classic. The Lady Rebels defeated Montana State and UW-Milwaukee to claim the title last weekend.
KIRK FOR MVP: Senior Von Kirk was named Most Valuable Player of the Gran Tree Thanksgiving Classic last weekend. Kirk averaged 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals a game during the two-day tournament. The honor was Kirk's first MVP award of a regular-season tournament. It was her second time to earn All-Tournament honors, though as she was named to the Howard Bank Classic All-Tournament team last season.
KIRK MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Lady Rebel senior Von Kirk is moving up the Ole Miss charts in three-point shooting. Kirk, in just a short time in Oxford, has made 132 three pointers, good for fourth-place on the career Lady Rebel chart. She needs seven more three-pointers to pass Jackie Martin on the chart for third place. Becky Myatt is on top of the chart with 232 three point baskets.
JACKSON TAKING IT TO THE BANK: Senior center Saundra Jackson is making good on most of her field goals this year. Jackson has made 84-of-155 shots from the field so far this season, good for 54.2 percent, which currently ranks fourth in the SEC. The Lady Rebel record for field goal percentage for a season is 60.4 percent by Eugenia Conner during the 1982-83 season. Jackson's current field goal percentage would rank fourth on the Ole Miss chart for field goal percentage for a season.
STARTERS ALL AROUND: Through 23 games this season, Ole Miss has used seven different starting lineups. Senior guard Sherika Wright has started all but two games this season, while freshman center Amber Watts, freshman guard Ally Kelly and senior guard Von Kirk have all started 19-of-23 contests and senior forward TaShondrea Moton has started 15 games. Sophomore forward Tywanna Inmon (10), junior Leah Henley (4), freshman Carletta Brown (6) and senior Saundra Jackson (2) have all made their way their way into the lineup. The following are Ole Miss' starting lineups and the records they have produced.
Wright, Kirk, Moton, Inmon, Jackson 0-1Wright, Kelly, Henley, Inmon, Watts 1-0Wright, Kelly, Kirk, Inmon, Watts 4-2Wright, Kelly, Kirk, Moton, Watts 4-5Wright, Brown, Henley, Moton, Watts 0-3Brown, Kelly, Kirk, Moton, Inmon 1-1Brown, Kelly, Kirk, Moton, Jackson 1-0
STREAK STILL ALIVE: Ole Miss made five threes in the win over UK. They have now hit at least one three-pointer in 227 consecutive games. The NCAA record for consecutive games with at least one three-pointer is held by Louisville, who has hit a three-pointer in 302 straight games, dating back to 1991.
TAKE IT AWAY: The Lady Rebels recorded 28 steals against UALR on Nov. 27, led by freshman guard Ally Kelly's seven thefts. Five players recorded three or more steals in the contest and 12 of 13 players that played recorded at least one steal. The 28 steals ranks as the second best in a single game in Ole Miss history. The Lady Rebels have recorded 233 steals on the season, good for 10.1 per game which ranks fifth in the SEC.
BLOCK PARTY: Lady Rebel freshman forward/center Amber Watts has quickly become a defensive force in the paint. Watts, who stands 6-3, has collected an impressive 47 blocks in her first 23 collegiate games. The Utica, Miss., native is ranked third in the SEC in blocked shots with 2.1 blocks per contest.
DEPTH A PLENTY: Ole Miss has developed some quality depth as 10 players are averaging double-digits in minutes. Sherika Wright leads the Lady Rebels with minutes per game, as she is on the floor 29.0 minutes per game. Ally Kelly and Von Kirk are close behind with 25.0 and 27.4 minutes per game respectively. Amber Watts (19.4), TaShondrea Moton (22.3), Tywanna Inmon (17.6), Saundra Jackson (19.4), Carletta Brown (17.4) and Tenisha Gist (11.9) and Leah Henley (10.0) all average more than 10 minutes per game.
IMPRESSIVE OUTSIDE THE SEC: The Lady Rebels have compiled an impressive record outside the Southeastern Conference in regular-season play. Ole Miss owns a 141-34 record (.806 winning percentage) versus non-conference opponents since 1990. The Lady Rebels' best non-conference record during that time 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 50-8 record (.862 winning percentage) versus the non-conference opponents on this year's slate.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: Ole Miss will make four television appearances during the 2001-02 season. The Sunshine Network aired Ole Miss' 75-73 loss at Florida on Jan. 20. FoxSportsNetSouth televised the Lady Rebels', 87-66, loss Mississippi State on Jan. 27 and Comcast Sports Southeast will televise the Lady Rebels' final home game of the season versus Tennessee on Feb. 21. Ole Miss dropped a 62-42 decision to Vanderbilt, a game that was televised on Comcast Sports Southeast.
DOWELL, MYATT JOIN LADY REBEL STAFF: During the offseason, Head Coach Ron Aldy added two people to the Lady Rebel staff. Kim Dowell joined the program as an assistant coach and Becky Myatt turned in her playing shoes for a clipboard as she is now a graduate administrative aide for Ole Miss. Dowell comes to Oxford from her alma mater, UT-Arlington, where she served as an assistant coach for the past five seasons. Myatt, who earned four letters under Aldy, is the Lady Rebel career leader in three-point field goals made and attemtped. She joined the 1,000 point club as a senior as she tallied 1,193 points during her Ole Miss career. Myatt's primary duties will be coordinating film exchange and maintaining correspondence with Alumni and Lady Rebel supporters.
TIP-INS: Ole Miss assistant coach Kim Rosamond celebrates her birthday in the month of February. Rosamond will blow out her candles on Feb. 17. Lady Rebel freshman Carletta Brown is a native of Roxie, Miss., the same hometown of award-winning author Richard Wright.
