GAME #5: Ole Miss vs.UAB
November 29, 2007 7:00 p.m. CT
Oxford, Miss. Tad Smith Coliseum (8,700)
MEDIA
Live Stats: OleMissSports.com
Live Video: OleMissSports.com
OXFORD, Miss. Following a five-day trip west to Malibu, Calif., over Thanksgiving, the Ole Miss women’s basketball team returns to Oxford to play host to UAB on Faculty/Staff Night Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. from Tad Smith Coliseum. Ole Miss faculty and staff members will receive two complimentary tickets to the game with each ID presented at the ticket office. In addition, the first 100 staff members to visit the Fun Zone will receive a complimentary calculator from Coca-Cola.
Ole Miss (2-2, 0-0 SEC) enters play having dropped a 74-57 decision to Wisconsin Friday afternoon in the opening round of the Timeout 4 HIV AIDS Tournament hosted by Pepperdine University. The Lady Rebels were scheduled to face Pepperdine in the consolation game on Saturday, but an outbreak of forest fires in and around the Malibu area resulted in the cancellation of the remainder of the tournament. Consequently, the game will not be made up and the Lady Rebels are not expected to reschedule the game with another team at any point this season.
The Lady Rebels look to avoid their first two-game losing streak inside the season since dropping back-to-back games at Georgia and against Mississippi State in late January a season ago. Ole Miss owns a 7-3 overall record against UAB that dates back to the 1980 season. The Lady Rebels have won four consecutive games against the Blazers and haven’t lost to them since the 1997-98 season. Last season in Birmingham, Ole Miss received career-highs in points from both Armintie Price and Ashley Awkward on its way to a 99-85 win over the Blazers. Lady Rebel senior forward Danetra Forrest also posted one of her best career games against UAB as she registered a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Individually, Ole Miss continues to be led on the offensive end by junior center Shawn Goff. Goff ranks first on the team and 17th in the SEC with 12.8 points per game while pulling down 7.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore Shantell Black, who has scored in double figures in each of the first four games this season, averages 11.3 points per game while leading the SEC with 7.25 assists per game. Senior forward Carla Bartee rounds out the trio of Lady Rebels averaging double figures as she averages a double-double per contest with 10.3 points and 10.8 rebounds. In addition, Bartee ranks second in the SEC in rebounding and is one of only two players in the conference to average a double-double.
Picked to finish fourth in Conference USA by the league’s coaches, UAB is guided by fourth-year head coach Audra Smith. The Blazers own a 2-4 overall record this season after dropping their last game 59-49 to Texas in the Jack In The Box Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. Thursday’s game marks the third time this season that the Blazers will face an opponent from the SEC. UAB has already dropped games at Vanderbilt and at Auburn to fall to 29-74 all-time against the SEC. Like the Lady Rebels, UAB features a trio of players who average in double figures. Senior guard Diamond Rogers, a preseason All-Conference USA selection, leads the way by scoring 17.7 points per game. Crystal McFadden and Britney Jones chip in with 15.5 and 12.5 points per game respectively.
