Women's Basketball To Host Jackson State In Preseason WNIT

Nov. 13, 2003

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Today's Game

Ole Miss is looking to get back in the winning column after dropping their lone exhibition game, 78-80 to the Premier Players on Wednesday at Tad Smith Coliseum.

The Lady Rebels open the 2003-04 season under the direction of first-year head coach Carol Ross. Ross, who played at Ole Miss from 1979-82, comes to Ole Miss after taking a year off from coaching. Prior to that she was 247-121 in 12 seasons as the head coach at Florida. While at UF, Ross led the Lady Gators to nine NCAA Tournament appearances and one WNIT appearance.

Ole Miss returns four startes and nine letterwinners from last year's 12-16 team. Junior Amber Watts is the leading returning scorer (13.1) and rebounder (8.7) from a year ago.

Jackson State enters Friday's game fresh off a 23-6 season a year ago. The Lady Tigers captured the 2003 SWAC regular season championship after posting a 15-3 league mark.

Ole Miss and Jackson State face-off in the first round of the 2003 Preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). The winner will face the winner of the St. Peter's-Rutgers game on Sunday at 2 p.m. The site is yet to be determined.

LAST TIME OUT

Ole Miss dropped their lone exhibition contest of the 2003-04 season to the Premier Players, 80-78. Freshman forward Armintie Price led the way for the Lady Rebels with 19 points and 15 rebounds, collecting a double-double in her first collegiate action. Junior center Amber Watts tallied 16 points and eight rebounds, while senior Tywanna Inmon added 13 points and junior Amber Terrell chipped in 11.

SCOUTING JACKSON STATE

JSU returns three starters and seven letterwinners from last season's team. Senior Amie Williams is the leading returner for the Lady Tigers. The 6-7 center from Cleveland, Miss., averaged 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game as a junior. Senior guard Latesha Lee returns to the line-up after leading JSU with 7.4 assists per game last season. Denise Taylor is beginning her third season at the helm of the JSU program. She has compiled a 39-19 record during her first two seasons in Jackson.

OLE MISS IN SEASON OPENERS

Ole Miss has compiled an impressive record in season openers in the history of the program. The Lady Rebels are 24-5 in season-opening games and defeated Southern University, 66-53, last season in the opening game.

OLE MISS IN HOME OPENERS

Ole Miss has an even more impressive record in home openers. The Lady Rebels are 27-2 in home-opening games after beating Southern University in last season's first game in Tad Smith Coliseum. The last time Ole Miss was unsuccessful in a home opener was during the 1998-99 season when the Lady Rebels fell to Clemson, 76-54.

OLE MISS VS. MISSISSIPPI SCHOOLS

Ole Miss is 185-48 (.794 winning percentage) versus schools in the state of Mississippi. The following is a list of schools from the Magnolia state that Ole Miss has played and their record against those schools.

Team                   RecordAlcorn State           13-1Belhaven                4-0Blue Mountain          10-0Delta State            20-12Itawamba CC             3-2Jackson State          19-3Jones County CC         1-0Mississippi College    20-7Mississippi State      53-11MUW                    12-6Mississippi Valley St. 10-2NW Mississippi JC   1-0NE Mississippi JC   2-0Southern Miss          16-4Touglaoo                1-0Total                 185-48

OLE MISS VS. PRESEASON WNIT SCHOOLS

Ole Miss is 28-6 (.824 winning percentage) versus schools in the Preseason WNIT. The following is a list of schools from the tournament that Ole Miss has played and their record against those schools.

Team                  RecordJackson State         19-3Rutgers                1-0St. Peter's            1-0Southeast Missouri     1-0Texas Tech             1-0Utah                   2-0Western Kentucky       3-3Total                 28-6

OLE MISS-JACKSON STATE TIES

The Lady Rebels have five players on the roster from the state of Mississippi, while there are nine Lady Tigers from Mississippi. Genice Terry of Ole Miss and Shianeka Freeman of JSU both attended Raymond High School in Raymond, Miss. Lady Rebel center Amber Watts attended Hinds Area High School in the Jackson area.

IMPRESSIVE OUTSIDE THE SEC

The Lady Rebels have compiled an impressive record outside the Southeastern Conference in regular-season play. Ole Miss owns a 152-35 record (81.3 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.

600 ON THE HORIZON

With 596 all time wins in the history of the Lady Rebel program, Ole Miss will be searching for its 600th victory during the 2003-04 season. The Lady Rebels have put together 596 wins to just 286 losses in the 29 seasons in Oxford.

BEST FOOT FORWARD

Lady Rebel head coach Carol Ross will be looking to get out of the gates with a good record in her first season at the helm of the Ole Miss program. Ross, who was 17-11 in her first season as Florida women's basketball head coach, will be looking to join the good company of former Lady Rebel coaches with solid first-year records Pam Davidson, Lin Dunn, Van Chancellor and Ron Aldy, posted a combined first-year record of 82-41 (.667 winning percentage). The following is a list of previous Ole Miss women's basketball head coaches and their first year records:

Coach          (Year)        Record    (Pct.)Pam Davidson   (1974-75)      14-8     (.636)Lin Dunn       (1977-78)      25-15    (.625)Van Chancellor (1978-79)      31-9     (.775)Ron Aldy       (1997-98)      12-19    (.387)

MOVING UP THE CHARTS

Lady Rebel junior Amber Watts is moving up the charts after just two seasons in Oxford. With 15 points in the Rebels' 2002-03 season finale with South Carolina, Watts now has 516 points in just 56 career games. Watts led Ole Miss in scoring as a sophomore with 13.1 points per game.

THREES WERE THE KEY

Ole Miss made more three-pointers than their opponents in 19-of-28 games last season. The Lady Rebels were 10-9 when connecting on more trifectas than their opponent. Of the nine players returning to the Ole Miss roster, all but one, Amber Watts, has attempted and made a three.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT

Freshman forward Armintie Price exploded on to the college basketball scene with her 19 point, 15 rebound performance in Ole Miss' exhibition loss to the Premier Players. Price, 5-9, connected on 7-of-10 shots from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. She grabbed four offensive boards and also dished out four assists.

AMBER FROM THE BLOCK

Lady Rebel center Amber Watts was a force on the boards during the 2002-03 season, leading Ole Miss and ranking third in the SEC with 8.7 caroms per game. Watts led Ole Miss in rebounding in 19 games as a sophomore, posting eight games with 10 or more boards.

HOME SWEET HOME

The home of Ole Miss basketball is C.M. "Tad" Smith Coliseum, and the Coliseum, affectionately known as the "Tad Pad," has become one of the toughest arenas in the country for opponents to play. The Lady Rebels have compiled an impressive 295-66 record for an incredible winning percentage of 81.7. The "Tad Pad" ranks as the 13th most intimidating active arena to play in its 29 years of hosting women's basketball games. The following is a list of the top active arenas in women's college hoops.

Arena                            (School)            Record   Pct.)1. Thompson-Boling Arena         (Tennessee)         227-11  (95.4)2. Thomas Assembly Center        (Louisiana Tech)    319-19  (94.4)3. Gampel Arena                  (Connecticut)       195-15  (92.9)4. United Spirit Arena           (Texas Tech)         68-6   (91.9)5. Dahlberg Arena                (Montana)           338-32  (91.4)6. Jon M. Huntsman Arena         (Utah)              310-39  (88.8)7. Frank Erwin Center            (Texas)             340-52  (86.7)8. Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum (Auburn)            289-47  (86.0)9. Golden Panther Arena          (Florida Int.)      230-45   83.6)10. Carver Hawkeye Arena         (Iowa)              226-48  (82.5)11. E.A. Diddle Arena            (Western Kentucky)  331-70  (82.5)12. Yanitelli Center             (St. Peter's Coll.) 315-70  (81.8)13. C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum      (Ole Miss)          295-66  (81.7)

BALANCING ACT

When the Lady Rebels hit the court in 2003-04, they will return a very balanced line-up. None of the three returning classes dominate the scoring, as the four seniors combined for 24.3 points per game in 2002-03. The juniors joined forces to put up 26.2 points per game, while the sophomore class posted 12.1 points per contest. Below is the breakdown by class:


Player                 PointsTenisha Gist            7.2Tywanna Inmon           4.9Genice Terry            9.2Tia Watson              3.0Seniors                24.3Carletta Brown          8.8Elizabeth Cansdale      4.3Amber Watts            13.1Juniors                26.2Ellen Buchanan          3.2Ashley Johnson          8.9Sophomores             12.1

CANSDALE IN THE CLUTCH

Elizabeth Cansdale led Ole Miss in free throw shooting percentage during the 2002-03 season. Cansdale made 21-of-26 from the charity stripe, good for 80.8 percent. Cansdale's success at the line should come as no surprise as she has her name in the Basketball Hall of Fame after winning the National Elk's Free Throw Shooting Contest in 1996. Cansdale made 23-of-25 free throws to win the national title at age 13.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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