The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Set To Take Part In UCF Tournament
12/19/2008 | Women's Basketball
Saturday 12.20.08 | 4 p.m. CT
Orlando, Fla. |UCF Arena (10,000)
MEDIA
Live Radio: (Gary Darby, play-by-play) Listen Online through RebelVision
Live Stats: OleMissSports.com
ORLANDO, Fla. With one tournament championship already under its belt this season, the Ole Miss women's basketball team looks to claim a second title when the Rebels take part in the UCF Tournament beginning Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. (CT) against the host Knights from the UCF Arena.
Earlier this season, the Rebels won the Winthrop Tournament by claiming consecutive victories over North Carolina A&T and Davidson.
Ole Miss (7-3) enters the tournament following a heartbreaking 64-61 overtime loss Wednesday night against UALR. Senior center Shawn Goff posted her second straight double-double as she finished the contest with 19 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. Junior Bianca Thomas finished with 16 points and five rebounds, while fellow junior Shantell Black tallied 10 points and four assists.
The Rebels are paced on the offensive end by Goff as she averages 14.9 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game. Those figures would rank her fifth in the SEC in scoring and eighth in rebounding, but Goff does not appear in the league rankings because she has yet to play in 75 percent of the team's games. Thomas is second on the team with 11.3 points per game, while Black is third in the SEC with 5.2 assists per game.
UCF (2-8) dropped its most recent game after falling 66-59 to Miami Thursday night. Overall, the Knights have lost seven of their last eight games. In addition, the Knights are 0-1 this season against the SEC following the team's 67-53 defeat at Alabama Dec. 3. As a team, UCF averages 62.2 points per game and allows its opponents to score 71.6 points per game.
Sophomore Emma Cannon leads UCF on the offensive end as she averages a double-double per game. Cannon averages 12.8 points per game and 10.4 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Marshay White tallies 9.8 points per game.
Saturday's game with UCF will mark the second C-USA opponent the Rebels have faced this season. Earlier this year, Ole Miss defeated Memphis 84-63 to improve to 65-23 all-time against the league. The Rebels are 3-0 all-time against UCF and have posted an average margin of victory of 31 points in those games. The Knights have failed to stay any closer than 26 points in any of the three previous meetings. In the most recent game between the two, Ole Miss posted a 79-53 victory over UCF during the 2001-02 season.
Sunday's game with Wake Forest will be the first ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. The Rebels are 12-11 all-time against the ACC, but are 0-1 this season after dropping a 46-42 decision Dec. 14 at NC State.
