The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Women's Basketball Takes On Belmont
11/23/2003 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. -
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TONIGHT'S GAME
Ole Miss is looking to get back in the win column after falling to #16/17 Rutgers , 65-50, in the second round of the Preseason WNIT on November 16.
The Lady Rebels (1-1) opened 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.
Senior Genice Terry leads the Lady Rebels two games into the season with 12 points per game. Junior Carletta Brown is adding 11.5 points and freshman Armintie Price is getting 11 points per game. Junior Amber Watts leads Ole Miss in rebounding with seven caroms per contest.
Belmont enters Tuesday's game with an 0-1 record after falling to Arkansas State, 79-70, at home on Saturday. The Bruins were led by juniors Holly Davis and Brandi Miller with 22 points a piece. Miller also added 10 rebounds in the loss.
Belmont posted a 19-10 record during the 2002-03 season and retuns three starters and nine letterwinners from that team.
SERIES
Ole Miss leads the series with Belmont, 2-0. The Lady Rebels won the last meeting against the Bruins as they defeated Belmont, 74-62 in overtime in Oxford on January 16, 2001. The Lady Rebels opened the series with Belmont with a 79-58 win in Oxford on January 15, 2000.
COACHES
Ole Miss head coach Carol Ross is 1-1 in her first with the Lady Rebels and 248-122 in her 13th season overall. Belmont head coach Tony Cross is beginning his 20th season at the helm of the Bruin program. He has collected a 417-174 overall record.
LAST TIME OUT
Despite not scoring a field goal for nearly 10 minutes to open the game, Ole Miss closed to within four points just before halftime behind the three-point shooting of juniors Elizabeth Cansdale and Carletta Brown who knocked down two threes a piece just before the break. Genice Terry drilled two three-pointers in the opening minutes of the second period and had 11 points to lead Ole Miss (1-1), but it was not enough as Rutgers pulled away and advanced to the Preseason WNIT semifinals with a 65-50 win over the Lady Rebels. Junior Amber Watts led Ole Miss in rebounding with nine rebounds.
SCOUTING BELMONT
Belmont is 0-1 on the season with a 79-70 loss to Arkansas State under their belts. The Bruins return three starters and nine letterwinners from last season's 19-10 team. They are coached by Tony Cross, who owns a 417-174 record in his 20th season in Nashville. Junior guard Erica Davenport is the leading returning scorer for the Bruins as she averaged 13 points as a sophomore. Juniors Hollie Davis and Brandi Miller led BU against Arkansas State with 22 points a piece, while Davenport added 11.
OLE MISS VS. ATLANTIC SUN SCHOOLS
Ole Miss is 18-4 (.800 winning percentage) versus schools in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The following is a list of schools from the league that Ole Miss has played and their record against those schools. Team Record
Belmont 2-0
Central Florida 3-0
Florida Atlantic 1-1
Georgia State 1-0
Lipscomb 1-0
Mercer 8-3
Stetson 1-0
Troy State 1-0
Total 18-4
OLE MISS-BELMONT TIES
The Lady Rebels have four players from the state of Tennessee on their roster. Senior Tenisha Gist (Athens), sophomore Ashley Johnson (Shelbyville) and freshmen Ashley Awkward (Memphis) and Jada Mincy (Memphis) all hail from the Volunteer state. Belmont does not field any Mississippi natives, but freshman Angel Jones is a native of Memphis and competed against Awkard and Mincy during their high school days.
OLE MISS VS. TENNESSEE SCHOOLS
Ole Miss is 53-53 (.500 winning percentage) versus schools in the state of Tennessee. The following is a list of schools from the Volunteer state that Ole Miss has played and their record against those schools. Team Record
Austin Peay 3-0
Belmont 2-0
Chattanooga 3-0
Lipscomb 1-0
Middle Tennessee 12-3
Tennessee 7-26
Tennessee-Martin 0-1
Tennessee State 1-0
Tennessee Tech 13-4
Vanderbilt 11-19
Total 53-53
COMMON OPPONENTS
Ole Miss and Belmont share just one common opponent during the 2003-04 season in Lipscomb. Ole Miss travels to Nashville on December 14 to take on the Lady Bison, while Belmont faces their cross-town rival twice during Atlantic Sun play.
IMPRESSIVE OUTSIDE THE SEC
The Lady Rebels have compiled an impressive record outside the Southeastern Conference in regular-season play. Ole Miss owns a 153-36 record (.810 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.
OLE MISS OPENS 2003-04 WITH WIN OVER JACKSON STATE
Ole Miss opened the season and Preseason WNIT with a 83-58 win over Jackson State on Friday. The Lady Rebels had three players in double figures, led by junior Carletta Brown with 15 points and four assists. Freshman Armintie Price posted 14 points and six rebounds, while senior Genice Terry chipped in 13 points, a career-high seven steals, four assists and four rebounds. Despite over 25 minutes of stopped play in the first half due to clock malfunctions, the Lady Rebels were able to maintain their focus and take a 36-23 halftime lead. Ole Miss opened the second half with a 19-6 run to forge a 26-point lead. The Lady Tigers never recovered.
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 (66.7 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 (63.6)
Lin Dunn (1977-78) 25-15 (62.5)
Van Chancellor (1978-79) 31-9 (77.5)
Ron Aldy (1997-98) 12-19 (38.7)
Carol Ross (2003-04) 1-1 (50.0)
MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Lady Rebel junior Amber Watts is moving up the charts after just two full seasons in Oxford. With 11 points in the Lady Rebels' first two games of the 2003-04 season, Watts now has 527 points in just 58 career games. Watts led Ole Miss in scoring as a sophomore with 13.1 points per game.
600 ON THE HORIZON
With 597 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 597 wins to just 287 losses in the 29 seasons in Oxford.
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. Price did not disappoint in her first regular season game as she posted 14 points and six rebounds in the win over Jackson State. She is averaging 11.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
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 with their records entering the 2003-04 season. 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 International) 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 College) 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 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 Points
Tenisha Gist 7.2
Tywanna Inmon 4.9
Genice Terry 9.2
Tia Watson 3.0
Seniors 24.3
Carletta Brown 8.8
Elizabeth Cansdale 4.3
Amber Watts 13.1
Juniors 26.2
Ellen Buchanan 3.2
Ashley Johnson 8.9
Sophomores 12.1
MINCY ON THE MEND
Freshman forward Jada Mincy will likely spend her freshman season as a redshirt. Mincy, a 6-1 Memphis, Tenn., native, had surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in October. Mincy, who rehabs daily with athletic trainer Rachel Sargent, was the 2003 Tennessee Division 2 Miss Basketball, while at Briarcrest Christian.
TERRY TAKETH AWAY
Senior Genice Terry posted a career-high seven steals in the Lady Rebels' season-opening win over Jackson State. With the seven pilfers, Terry nearly doubled her previous career-high of four steals, which she achieved against Florida International last season. Although Terry taketh, she also giveth as she distributed four passes that led to Lady Rebel baskets against JSU.
