The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Head To UAB For Road Opener
11/13/2006 | Women's Basketball
Today's Game
Ole Miss will hit the road for the first time in the 2006-07 season when they travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take on the UAB Blazers ... The Rebels are 21-11 in road openers in the history of the program with a 2-1 mark in road openers under head coach Carol Ross ... Ole Miss is 14-24 in road games under Ross ... The Rebels were 6-7 in road games in 2005-06 ... Ole Miss freshman guard Elizabeth Robertson returns to her roots as the native of Vestavia, Ala., gets to play in her backyard ... Rebel senior guard Armintie Price needs just three rebounds to reach the 900 mark in her career.
About Ole Miss
The Rebels defeated Southeastern Louisiana 92-46 in the 2006-07 season opener Friday. Senior All-America candidate Armintie Price paced Ole Miss with 24 points, eight rebounds two assists and two steals in just 25 minutes of play. Sophomore center Shawn Goff posted her first career double-double in the win with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Goff's 15 points were a career best. Senior forward Jada Mincy grabbed 11 rebounds, while senior guard Ashley Awkward tossed in 10 points and collected five steals. Freshman guard Bianca Thomas came off the bench to pour in 12 points off of 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Alliesha Easley got the nod at the two spot, picking up her first career start and becoming the first true freshman to start the season-opening game since Armintie Price started the 2003-04 season opener.
Scouting UAB
The Blazers finished the 2005-06 season with a 14-14 mark in head coach Audra Smith's second season with the program.
The Blazers return four starters and 10 letterwinners in 2006-07 led by senor guard Carmen Guzman who averaged 16.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per outing a season ago. Senior guard Crystal McFadden returns 13.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Britney Jones also returns 12.1 points and 2.4 rebounds to the line-up.
The Blazers opened the season with a 93-77 loss at Florida State on Sunday. Guzman led UAB with 22 point in the game.
The Series
Today's game will be the 10th meeting between Ole Miss and UAB, with the Lady Rebels leading the series 6-3. The first meeting between the two schools was on Dec. 16, 1983 with Ole Miss taking a 110-65 decision. The game was an opening round match-up of the 1983 Lady Rebel Dial Classic played in Oxford. Ole Miss has won three-straight in the series, including last season's 71-52 win in Oxford.
Ole Miss vs. Conference USA
Ole Miss is 62-22 (.738 winning percentage) versus schools currently in Conference USA, including a 6-3 mark against UAB. Ole Miss head coach Carol Ross is 17-6 (.739 winning percentage) against schools from Conference USA, including a 2-0 mark against the Blazers. The following is a list of schools from the league that Ole Miss has played and its record against those schools.
Team Record
UAB 6-3
Central Florida 3-0
Houston 1-0
Marshall 2-0
Memphis 30-12
Rice 3-0
SMU 0-1
Southern Miss 16-4
Tulane 1-2
Total 62-22
Ole Miss-UAB Ties
There are two players on the Ole Miss roster this season who hail from Alabama. Freshmen Daphnee Frieson (Mobile) and Elizabeth Robertson (Vestavia) are from Alabama with Robertson being a native of the greater Birmingham area. UAB's roster features two players from the Magnolia state in junior forward Diamond Rogers of Jackson and freshman guard Brittany Davidson of Meridian. Rogers played in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star game on the Mississippi roster with current Rebel juniors Danetra Forrest and Tasi Worsham. Senior forward Jada Mincy's older brother Jerome played his college ball at UAB where his jersey is now retired. Jerome Mincy ranks eighth in UAB history in scoring with 1,473 points and is first in rebounding with 933 caroms. Ole Miss men's basketball head coach Andy Kennedy is also a UAB grad and ranks second in Blazer history in scoring with 1,787 points in just three seasons.
Ole Miss In Road Openers
Ole Miss has compiled an impressive record in road openers as they are 21-11 in season-opening road games, including a 70-66, win over Clemson last season. Ole Miss is 2-1 in road openers under head coach Carol Ross.
Impressive Outside The SEC
The Rebels have compiled an impressive record outside the Southeastern Conference in regular-season play. Ole Miss owns a 182-46 record (.797 winning percentage) versus non-conference opponents since 1990. The 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 posted a 10-3 record against non-conference opponents during the 2005-06 regular season.
Mint Condition
Ole Miss senior guard Armintie Price is on pace to become just the fifth player in NCAA history to post 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 steals and 300 assists in a career. Price enters the today's game with 1,519 points, 897 rebounds, 274 steals and 254 assists through her first 92 games. If she makes the club, she will join Cheryl Miller, Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Sophia Young.
Three-Peat
During the 2005-06 season, the Rebels made their third-straight postseason appearance. The Rebels advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and 2005 and participated in the WNIT in 2006. Ole Miss is tied for 17th in the country in NCAA Tournament appearances with 16 and picked up its first postseason win under head coach Carol Ross with a 78-76 win over Kansas in the first round of the 2006 WNIT.
Price On Watch Lists
Ole Miss senior guard Armintie Price is being recognized by nearly all of the national awards as they open their watch lists for the 2006-07 season. Price has been named to the Wade Watch as well as the Wooden Award Preseason list. The 5-9 guard was recently recognized by ESPN.com as one of the top five two guards in the NCAA and was selected by GBallMag.com as a preseason Second Team All-America. Price was unanimously voted to the preseason First Team All-SEC by the league coaches and was also selected for the same team a panel of media at the 2006 SEC Media Days. She was also honored as a preseason All-America and First Team All-SEC by Basketball Times.
Easley Gets The Nod
Ole Miss freshman guard Alliesha Easley got her named called among the starters in the Rebels' season opener versus Southeastern Louisiana. Easley became the first Ole Miss true freshman to start a season opener since Armintie Price began the game in the line-up in the 2003-04 season-opener. Easley and Price are the only two freshmen to start at Ole Miss under head coach Carol Ross.
Rebounding Rebels
The Rebels were dominant on the glass in the season-opening win over Southeastern Louisiana collecting 59 caroms to just 31 for the Lady Lions. The 59 rebounds were the most collected by an Ole Miss team since they pulled down 60 versus Brown on Nov. 26, 2005. Two Rebels recorded double digits in rebounds in the game in sophomore Shawn Goff with 12 and senior Jada Mincy with 11, while senior Armintie Price added eight.
SEC Showing Power Early
The SEC boasts three of the top 10 teams in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll released on Nov. 6. The league boasts No. 5 Tennessee, No. 9 Georgia and No. 10 LSU. Vanderbilt (15) and Kentucky (16) are the other SEC team currently ranked, with Ole Miss, South Carolina and Florida each receiving votes. Other teams on the Rebel 2006-07 schedule in the rankings include: Maryland (1) and Rutgers (11th), while Rice is also receiving votes.
Fab Five
Five fabolous freshmen joined the Rebel program for the 2006-07 season, with each having gained championship experience at the high school level before heading off to Ole Miss. Shantell Black (Lawrenceville, Ga.), Alliesha Easley (Cordova, Tenn.), Daphnee Frieson (Mobile, Ala.), Elizabeth Robertson (Vestavia, Ala.) and Bianca Thomas (Henderson, Tenn.) each joined the Rebels in July and are prepared to make an impact as Ole Miss makes a run at its fourth-straight postseason appearance.
Masters of Thievery
In Ole Miss' season-opening win over Southeastern Louisiana the Rebels picked up 16 steals with nine players recording at least one steal in the game. Senior Ashley Awkward led the charge with five steals, just one short of her career high. Senior Armintie Price, senior Jada Mincy and sophomore Shawn Goff each tallied two steals in the game.
Price Featured On ESPN.com
Ole Miss senior guard Armintie Price is currently featured on www.ESPN.com on the women's college basketball page. Price is listed as one of the top five two-guards in the NCAA as noted by the website's women's college basketball analysts.
Mechelle Voepel, Nancy Lieberman, Beth Mowins and Melanie Jackson compiled a list of the top five players at each position, ranking Price the top player at the two-guard spot. She is joined on the list by junior Matee Ajavon (Rutgers), junior Candice Wiggins (Stanford), senior Shay Doron (Maryland) and senior Cori Chambers (Georgia).
Rebel Guards Preview
Senior Ashley Awkward is back to guide the team as the veteran of a deep group of point guards. The Memphis native started 25 games as a junior turning in a career-best 9.7 points per outing, while also collecting 85 assists and 37 steals on the season.
Awkward will be joined at the point position by junior Tasi Worsham and freshman Shantell Black. With Worsham you get a powerful point guard, one who is physical and aggressive in taking the ball to the basket. Black is more of a water bug' point guard who arrives at Ole Miss from the highly touted Collins Hill High School out of Georgia.
A good battle is brewing for playing time at the two-guard position where incoming freshmen Alliesha Easley and Bianca Thomas will vie for playing time with returning juniors Carla Bartee and Lindsay Roy.
While Easley is quick and explosive with the ball in her hands, Thomas arrives at Ole Miss with the reputation of being a big-time' scorer.
Bartee showed signs of being able to pour in the points in her inaugural season with the Rebels after transferring from Western Kentucky. The 6-1 guard-forward averaged 9.6 points per game last season as Ole Miss' sixth woman. While mostly playing in the power forward position as a sophomore, Bartee connected on 51 three-point baskets and also pulled down 3.6 boards per game.
Roy is another player who can shoot the ball, but along with Bartee, Ross is looking for improvements from her in other aspects of her game.
There will be no competition for the three-guard position as the Preseason All-American Armintie Price has it wrapped up. The Wade Trophy Player of the Year candidate led Ole Miss in scoring (17.7), rebounding (9.6), steals (3.4) and assists (3.4) as a junior, one of only three players in the NCAA to lead her team in those four categories. Price is currently on pace to become just the fifth player in NCAA history to record over 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 steals and 300 assists in a career.
Freshman Elizabeth Robertson will be asked to provide some depth behind Price. Robertson, a 5-10 guard out of Alabama, is a good outside shooter who can spread the defense with her ability to hit the long- range jumper. Rebounding will be the key to Robertson getting minutes behind Price according to Ross.
Rebel Forwards Preview
Senior Jada Mincy will team with junior Danetra (Dee) Forrest to provide a hard-nosed one-two punch at the power forward position.
While Mincy has a stronger face-up game and can hit the mid-range jumper, Forrest is a little more physical down inside to provide a perfect skill set to keep opponents on their toes.
Rebel Centers Preview
The center position is another position that is the deepest in Ross' tenure with the Rebels. Sophomore Shawn Goff came on strong late in her freshman season to provide an inside presence. Goff started the final six games of the 2005-06 season and averaged 7.0 points and 9.0 boards per game in the WNIT.
Ross felt like the Rebels were lacking in height down low so the coaching staff made a concerted effort to get bigger. In doing so they brought in highly touted 6-foot-5 Daphnee Frieson out of Mobile, Ala.
Joining Goff and Frieson in the middle will be sophomore Brandi Tipton. A skilled player with the ball in her hands, Ross likes the versatility Tipton provides in the post.
Up Next
Following the game versus UAB the Rebels will then travel to Houston, Texas to take on a second-straight Conference USA opponent in Rice on Fri., Nov. 17. Ole Miss will then return to Oxford to play host to Rhode Island on Sun., Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. in Tad Smith Coliseum.
