The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lady Rebel Basketball Set To Host Rice In Season Opener
11/16/2005 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. -
The Ole Miss women's basketball team will tip off the 2005-06 regular season on Friday, Nov. 18, when they play host to the Rice Owls, the 2005 Western Athletic Conference Co-Champions. The Owls, who lost to Georgia in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament, return three starters and 12 letterwinners from last season.
The Lady Rebels open the 2005-06 season under the direction of third-year head coach Carol Ross. Ross, who played at Ole Miss from 1979-82, earned SEC Co-Coach of the Year honors in 2004 after guiding Ole Miss back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight seasons. Ross' Lady Rebels returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2004-05, falling to George Washington in the first round of play.
Ole Miss returns two starters and nine letterwinners from last season's 19-11 team. Junior guard Armintie Price returns to lead the Lady Rebels after posting team highs of 16.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.2 steals and .536 field goal percentage. Price, a Preseason Wooden Award Candidate and First Team All-SEC selection, is joined by returning starter senior forward Ellen Buchanan. Buchanan started 22-of-30 games last season, posting averages of 2.8 points and 3.3 rebounds.
Sophomore Jada Mincy started at forward the last eight games of the 2004-05 season and ranked third on the team in rebounding with 5.4 boards per game. Fellow sophomore Danetra Forrest posted 5.3 points per game as a freshman, while junior guard Ashley Awkward came off-the-bench to average 4.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.
Senior Ashley Johnson returns at the shooting guard position. Johnson leads the returning players with 82 career three-point baskets.
The Ole Miss roster will be bolstered by newcomers Carla Bartee, Shawn Goff and Brandi Tipton. Bartee, a transfer from Western Kentucky, posted nine double-doubles in her freshman season of college basketball, while Goff and Tipton will play their first collegiate game on Thursday.
The Lady Rebels knocked off Athletes In Action, 95-67, in their lone exhibition contest of the 2005-06 season. Four players notched double figures in the win for Ole Miss as Forrest led the way with 19 points. Bartee tallied 18 points, Johnson had 14 and Price added 13 points. Awkward was solid at the point with a team-high seven assists and senior LaTanya Jones collected a game-high five steals in the win.
Tickets prices for Ole Miss women's basketball games are as follows: reserved seating $7, general admission $5, student tickets are free with a valid student identification. Fans will receive complimentary admission to the season-opener versus Rice with their football game ticket for the Ole Miss-LSU game. The first 250 fans at the game will receive an "It's Time For Lady Rebel Basketball" souvenir desk clock courtesy of Coca-Cola.
