The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
4-2
Illinois-Chicago
1-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois-Chicago | 30 | 29 | 59 |
| Ole Miss Lady Rebels | 38 | 49 | 87 |
Lady Rebels Extinguish Flames, 87-59
12/4/2004 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2004
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OXFORD, Miss. - Four Ole Miss players scored in double figures and the Lady Rebels used a strong second half to roll past Illinois-Chicago 87-59 Saturday evening, in front of 1,644 at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
The Lady Rebels improved to 4-2 on the season and have won three of their last four, while the Flames dropped their fourth straight contest to fall to 1-6.
Senior guard Elizabeth Cansdale led Ole Miss with 15 points, including going 4-of-7 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Armintie Price added 14 points and also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while senior guard Carletta Brown and senior center Amber Watts each netted 11 points.
"It's great having two seniors (Cansdale and Brown) in the back court," said Ole Miss Head Coach Carol Ross. "Elizabeth didn't get to play all that much last season because she was injured. She worked extremely hard in the off-season and I think she prepared herself very well to come in and be a factor. It's turned out that she's become an even bigger factor and secured a starting spot."
The Lady Rebels never trailed in the contest and the game was tied just once, at 3-3 early in the first half. Ole Miss would build a 12-point lead in the first half at 33-21 and carried a 38-30 lead into the break.
Ole Miss shot 53.8 percent from the field in the first half while limiting the Flames to 37.9-percent shooting, however, the Lady Rebels were unable to pull away as they committed 11 first-half turnovers.
The Lady Rebels managed to take better care of the ball in the second half, committing just six turnovers in outscoring the Flames 49-29 in the second half.
"We had some balanced scoring and we shot the ball pretty well tonight," Ross said. "But we need to continue to play well because we are not where we need to be yet. We came out slow in the first half as the chemistry wasn't there."
Illinois-Chicago would get as close as six points in the second half, when senior forward Chasity Quinn hit a jumper to make it 42-36 with 17:47 remaining. Ole Miss would then blow the game open over the next nine minutes, outscoring the Flames 28-11 during that stretch to build a 23-point lead at 70-47 with 8:39 remaining.
The Lady Rebels would lead by as much as 32 points at 85-53 with 2:56 to go.
Ole Miss finished the night shooting 51.7 percent from the floor, connecting on 31-of-60 shots, including 8-of-14 from three-point range. Illinois-Chicago was limited to 38.6 percent from the field, making 22-of-57 field goal attempts.
The Lady Rebels also held a 43-29 advantage on the boards, collecting 18 offensive rebounds that converted into 26 second-chance points.
Sophomore guard Krystal Hugelier led the Flames with a game-high 20 points.
Ole Miss will return to action next Sunday afternoon when the Lady Rebels travel to Lubbock, Texas for a 1 p.m., contest against Texas Tech.
