Lady Rebels Face Mississippi State In SEC Tournament First Round

GAME #28: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State
March 6, 2008  12:00 p.m. CT
Nashville, Tenn.  Sommet Center (19,395)

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OXFORD, Miss. In search of its first SEC Tournament title in school history, the Ole Miss women’s basketball team will begin its quest for SEC supremacy Thursday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. when the No. 8 seed Lady Rebels take on ninth-seeded Mississippi State in the opening round of the tournament from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn.    

Veteran sportscaster Rich Waltz and Debbie Antonelli are scheduled to handle the play-by-play and color duties, respectively, for Thursday’s FSN South coverage of the Ole Miss-Mississippi State contest.  The game is also scheduled to be aired on 105.5 FM with Ronnie Williams calling the action.   

Ole Miss (12-15, 6-8 SEC) owns a 22-28 all-time record in the SEC Tournament that began in 1980. The Lady Rebels played in the first ever SEC title game, falling to Tennessee 85-71 in the 1980 championship game. Ole Miss first-year head coach will be making her SEC Tournament debut as a head coach Thursday afternoon. Ladner is no stranger to the tournament, however, as she served as an assistant coach at both Florida and Ole Miss.

The Lady Rebels have enjoyed a great deal of success on the SEC Tournament’s first day. In fact, Ole Miss is 11-5 all-time in the first round of the tournament. The Lady Rebels have not lost in the first round since falling 79-64 to South Carolina in 2003.

Ole Miss owns a dominant 59-15 overall record in the all-time series against Mississippi State that dates back to the 1974-75 season. The Lady Rebels have had the most success of any school in the SEC against Mississippi State as evident by their 59 career victories. Ole Miss has 21 more victories over MSU than any other SEC school. LSU is second in the conference with 38 all-time victories over Mississippi State.

The Lady Rebels are 5-1 all-time against Mississippi State in games played in the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss and MSU, however, have not met in the event since the 2000 SEC Tournament. In that game, the Lady Bulldogs claimed their first win in the series with a 75-59 win in the opening round in Chattanooga, Tenn.  Prior to that, Ole Miss had won the first five meetings in convincing fashion. In the five wins over Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament, Ole Miss boasts an average margin of victory of 21.8 points.

Ole Miss and Mississippi State will be meeting for the third time this season, marking the first time that has happened since the 1999-2000 season. The two teams split the two games this season with each team winning on its own home court. The Lady Bulldogs won the first meeting 57-52, while the Lady Rebels captured the second meeting 73-65. Overall, the last five meetings between the two schools have all been decided by eight points or less.

The Lady Rebels are paced on the offensive end of the floor by All-SEC Second Team selection Shawn Goff.  Goff ranks first on the team and eighth in the SEC with 13.5 points per game, while ranking second on the team and 12th in the league with 7.0 rebounds per game.  Goff also leads the SEC with 2.33 blocked shots per game.  Senior forward Carla Bartee accounts for a team-leading 8.1 rebounds per game to rank eighth in the SEC.  Sophomore Shantell Black stands second on the team with 9.9 points per game to go along with a league-leading 5.30 assists per game. 

Mississippi State (16-13, 4-10 SEC) enters the SEC Tournament with a 16-13 overall record, 4-10 in the conference after finishing the regular season losing four of its last five games. The Lady Bulldogs lone win in their final five games came in the form of a 58-54 win at South Carolina for their only SEC road win of the season. The Lady Bulldogs have struggled to score of late as Mississippi State is averaging just 54.8 points over its last five games. Overall, MSU averages 66.9 points per game.

Individually, the Lady Bulldogs feature a pair of players who average in double figures. Sophomore guard Alexis Rack paces the team with 11.6 points per game. Rack also serves as the team’s top outside threat as evident by her 77 made three-pointers. Sophomore forward Tysheka Grimes ranks second on the team with 11.0 points per game, while topping the team with 6.4 rebounds per game.

Should the Lady Rebels defeat Mississippi State, Ole Miss would face top-seeded LSU Friday afternoon at 12:00 p.m.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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