The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Pick Up 74-48 Road Win At Louisiana
11/19/2008 | Women's Basketball
LAFAYETTE, La. All 12 Ole Miss players in uniform scored at least one point as the Rebels secured their first road victory of the season with a 74-48 victory over Louisiana Wednesday night from the Earl K. Long Gym.
Sophomore guards Kayla Melson and Alliesha Easley finished in double figures for the Rebels as the duo registered 13 and 12 points respectively. Freshmen LaTosha Laws and Whitney Hameth scored their first points in a Rebel uniform by chipping in with five and seven points respectively.
Ragin' Cajun forward Alexis Green scored a game-high 10 points, while guard Jasmine Barnes finished in double figures with 10 points.
Ole Miss (3-0) used a dominating effort in the rebounding category to finish the game with a 53-30 edge on the glass. The Rebels used that rebounding discrepancy to hold a 21-7 advantage in second chance points, while also collecting more than half their points (38) in the paint.
"I'm extremely proud of the way my team played tonight against a very good team in a hostile environment," head coach Renee Ladner said. "Our goal was to start the season with three straight wins and we accomplished that, and now I am looking forward to playing our first game at home Friday night against a good Memphis team."
Defensively, the Rebels limited Louisiana to just 31.7 percent from the field and held the Ragin' Cajuns to just 23.5 percent from beyond the arc. In its three games thus far this season, Ole Miss is holding its opponents to just 15.6 percent from three-point range.
Louisiana jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game, but Ole Miss quickly erased the deficit with 6-0 run of its own capped by an old fashioned three-point play from Melson to give the Rebels a 6-5 advantage.
The Rebels continued to expand their lead and opened up a seven point lead at 16-9 midway through the half as Easley hit a jumper in the lane. Easley paced the team in the first half with 10 points. From that point on, the Ragin' Cajuns used a 12-5 run to even the score at 21 points apiece following a jumper from Barnes, forcing Ole Miss head coach Renee Ladner to use a timeout.
Ole Miss responded with a 17-0 run to close the half to take a 38-21 lead into the dressing rooms, holding the Ragin' Cajuns scoreless for the final 6:11 of the half. The Rebels finished the half with a 48.3 shooting percentage, while holding Louisiana to a mere 25.0 percent from the field.
Ole Miss returns to action Friday evening at 6 p.m. when the Rebels welcome Memphis to Tad Smith Coliseum.
