The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lady Rebels Claim Road Win At Miami 65-52
12/15/2007 | Women's Basketball
CORAL GABLES, Fla. Ole Miss featured four different players in double figures and limited Miami to 25 percent shooting from the field en route to an impressive 65-52 victory over the Hurricanes Saturday evening at the BankUnited Center.
Lady Rebel freshman guard Kayla Melson paced the team with 14 points after collecting 12 points in the second half. Melson also added three assists to go along with a team-high four steals. Junior center Shawn Goff made the most of her return to her home state by notching her second double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds after missing just one shot all night long. The Tallahassee, Fla., native also added a career-high six blocked shots in 36 minutes of play.
Ole Miss also received an impressive outing from sophomore guard LaKendra Phillips as she turned in a career-high 12 points. Senior forward Carla Bartee rounded out the Lady Rebels in double figures as the Waynesboro, Miss., native chipped in with 10 points to go along with nine rebounds.
Miami guard Maurita Reid led all scorers with 17 points while fellow guard Albrey Grimsley finished second on the team with 13 points.
Ole Miss (5-4, 0-0 SEC) held the Hurricanes to 19-of-76 shooting during the course of the game as the Lady Rebels only allowed nine field goals in the first half and 10 in the second half. In addition, Ole Miss limited Miami to just 19.2 percent from three-point range as the Hurricanes were just 5-for-26 from beyond the arc.
The Lady Rebels held at least a nine-point advantage for the first five minutes of the play in the second half before Miami cut the lead to six points on a jumper from Reid at the 12:28 mark. Ole Miss answered with an 8-0 run to extend the lead up to 14 points on a jumper from sophomore forward Elizabeth Robertson.
From that point on, Ole miss would only surrender its double-digit lead only once for the remainder of the game. With just over two minutes remaining, the Lady Rebels took their largest lead of the game at 18 points following a jumper in the lane from Melson.
Ole Miss struck early and often as the Lady Rebels opened up the first half with a 9-0 run in the first three minutes of play. In fact, Ole Miss was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field to start to game capped by a layup from Phillips to give the Lady Rebels a 14-5 lead at the 14:28 mark.
Following Phillips' layup at the 14:28 mark, Miami used a 7-2 run over the next 2:25 to cut the Lady Rebel lead to four points at 16-12. Ole Miss, however, responded with an 8-0 run of its own to claim a 12-point lead at 24-12 with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half. Ole Miss would go on to lead by as many as 13 points using a suffocating defense that limited the Hurricanes to just 22.5 percent shooting from the field. Miami was also held to just 15.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc as the Hurricanes went 2-for-13 from distance.
The Lady Rebels shot an even 50 percent from the field in the first half on 12-for-24 shooting. Goff paced Ole Miss in the opening period as she failed to miss a shot, going 2-for2 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free throw line. Goff also recorded five blocked shots in the first 20 minutes of play. Phillips led all scorers in the first half as she collected eight points to go along with three rebounds.
Ole Miss returns to action Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. when the Lady Rebels welcome ACC foe North Carolina State to Tad Smith Coliseum.
