The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Down Northwestern State 92-64 In Tourney Opener
12/29/2008 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. The Ole Miss women's basketball team took a step closer to its second regular season tournament championship of the year Monday night as the Rebels downed Northwestern State 92-64 on the first day of the Ole Miss Holiday Classic from Tad Smith Coliseum.
Earlier this year, Ole Miss claimed the Winthrop Hilton Garden Inn Classic championship with consecutive wins over North Carolina A&T and Davidson to open the year with a tournament title.
The 92 points scored by the Rebels was the highest scoring output of the season and the most since Ole Miss defeated Fordham 99-43 Dec. 30, 2006. Ole Miss also finished shooting 51.5 percent from the field to mark the fourth time this season the Rebels have shot over 50 percent.
Ole Miss (9-4) poured in 56.5 percent of its scoring output from inside the paint as the Rebels finished the game with 52 points in the paint. It was the ninth time this season Ole Miss has registered more points in the paint than its opponent.
Using a distinct size advantage, the Rebels pulled down 49 rebounds and limited Northwestern State to just 29. In fact, Ole Miss grabbed 22 offensive boards and turned those opportunities into 29 second chance points.
Ole Miss junior Katorra Lewis turned in her best performance as a Rebel as she set career-highs in points, rebounds and steals. The Clinton, Miss., native finished the game with 15 points, nine rebounds, including seven offensive boards, and four steals in just 22 minutes of work.
Shawn Goff scored a game-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds, four blocked shots and six steals. Junior Bianca Thomas tallied 15 points and four rebounds and has now scored in double digits in four straight games for the first time in her career. Sophomore Alliesha Easley rounded out of the quartet of Rebels in double figures as she added 11 points and a career-high five assists.
Northwestern State forward Britany Kinlaw led the Lady Demons with 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field. Guard Demetria White finished second on the team with 10 points to go along with a game-high six assists.
Ole Miss opened the game on a 10-0 run just over three minutes into the game and never let Northwestern State get any closer than eight points. The Lady Demons stopped the run with a basket from Kinlaw at the 16:28 mark of the second half, but the Rebels answered with a 19-8 run over the next five minutes to open up a 19-point advantage midway through the half.
The Rebels went on to lead by as many as 30 points in the first half as finished the period with a 54.3 shooting percentage. Defensively, Ole Miss limited Northwestern State to just 25.0 percent shooting and only nine field goals.
Ole Miss looks to earn the tournament championship when the Rebels face Rice Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. from Tad Smith Coliseum.
