The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lady Rebels Set To Face Maine In Hurricane Holiday Classic
12/26/2005 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 26, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. -
The 24th-ranked Lady Rebels (9-2) are traveling to Miami, Fla., to take part in the Hurricane Holiday Classic hosted by the University Miami. Ole Miss will take on Maine (2-5) in the first round of play. The host Hurricanes and North Carolina A&T will square off in the other first round match-up with championship and consolation games slated for Thursday.
Ole Miss reeled off six consecutive wins before suffering their second set-back of the season to Louisiana Tech in its last outing. Included in the wins is an impressive home win over #7/7 Rutgers, a tough road victory over local rival Memphis and a pounding of Nicholls State in one week.
Ole Miss is led on the season by junior guard Armintie Price with 18.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Price, a two-time 2005-06 SEC Player of the Week, has scored in double figures in 10-of-11 games this season.
Senior guard Ashley Johnson is averaging 13.5 points per game and has made 21-of-61 shots from beyond the arc. Johnson has been the leading scorer for Ole Miss in four games this season, posting a season-high 22 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 2.6 per game. She also drops in 9.9 points and is second on the team with 1.6 steals per game.
Sophomore forward Carla Bartee is Ole Miss' top player off the bench with 8.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per outing. Bartee posted her first double-double as a Lady Rebel with 15 points and 10 rebounds versus Louisiana Tech. She has also knocked down 16 triples on the season.
Under the direction of third-year head coach Carol Ross, the Lady Rebels are 45-26. 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.
Maine enters Wednesday's contest with a 2-5 overall mark. The Black Bears have dropped five-straight games, including losses at Mississippi State and George Washington in their last two outings.
Junior Bracey Barker leads three Maine players in double figures with 12.6 points per game. Senior Abby Schrader (11.7) and junior Ashley Underwood (10.9) also average double digit scoring. Schrader leads UM in rebounding with 9.3 per game, while senior Katie Whittier also pulls down 7.3 caroms per contest.
Maine head coach Anne McInerney is in her first season at the helm of the program and has led the team to its 2-5 record. McInerney has posted a 153-87 record in her ninth season in the business.
