The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lady Rebels Host Nicholls State Today
12/18/2005 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. -
The Lady Rebels (8-1) will attempt to pick up their sixth-straight win and ninth of the season when they play host to Nicholls State on Sunday afternoon. Game time is slated for 2 p.m., in Tad Smith Coliseum.
Ole Miss has reeled off five consecutive wins after suffering their lone set-back to Villanova on Nov. 25. Included in the wins is an impressive home win over #7/7 Rutgers and a tough road victory over local rival Memphis in their last two outings.
Senior guard Ashley Johnson is averaging 14.0 points per game and has made 19-of-53 shots from beyond the arc. Johnson led Ole Miss in wins over Clemson with 21 points and Tennessee State with 20 points. She also posted 22 points in the win over Rutgers.
Junior guard Ashley Awkward and has been getting the nod at the point guard position for Ole Miss. Awkward is leading the team in assists with 3.2 per game. She also drops in 10.1 points and is second on the team with 1.9 steals per game.
Sophomore forward Jada Mincy had a break-out game in Ole Miss' win over Tennessee State. She recorded her first career double-double with a personal best 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds, eight of which were on the offensive end. Mincy was Ole Miss' leading rebounder for the second-straight outing with 10 boards versus UAB.
Under the direction of third-year head coach Carol Ross, the Lady Rebels are 44-26. 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.
Nicholls State enters Sunday's contest with a 1-6 record, falling at the hands of Grambling, Southern, Ohio State, Eastern Washington, Missouri and Arkansas. The Lady Colonels picked up a 55-51 win over New Orleans on Nov. 30.
Jamie Octave leads the Lady Colonels in scoring and rebounding with 14.0 points and 5.7 boards per contest. Katherine Plummer is the team leader in assists and steals with 25 dimes and 12 pilfers on the season.
Nicholls State head coach Mark Cook is 9-26 in his second season in Thibodaux. Cook's overall coaching mark is 151-90 in eight seasons.
