The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Head West For Monday Matinee With Arizona
11/22/2009 | Women's Basketball
Ole Miss (3-0) vs. Arizona (2-1)
Monday 11.23.09 | 12:00 p.m. CT
Tucson, Ariz. | McKale Center (14,545)
MEDIA
Live Stats: OleMissSports.com
Live Radio: RebelVision (Gary Darby, play-by-play; Alliesha Easley, analyst)
OXFORD, Miss. - Looking for its fourth consecutive win to start the season, the Ole Miss women's basketball team heads west to take on Arizona Monday at noon from the McKale Center.
Ole Miss (3-0) is coming off a 98-56 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a game that saw All-SEC guard Bianca Thomas tie her career-high with 31 points. Thomas finished with six three-pointers to tie the mark for the fourth-most treys in a game in school history. It was the third time in her career that she has tallied six or more three-pointers.
Shantell Black finished with 16 points and a game-high nine assists, while Kayla Melson added 13 points and eight assists. Ole Miss currently leads the SEC with 25.7 assists per game, while both Melson and Black rank in the top-four of the league as well. Melson paces the conference with 9.3 assists per game, and Black is tied for fourth with 5.7 helpers per game.
Thomas enters the week having scored at least 22 points in every game this season and currently ranks first on the team and second in the SEC with 26.0 points per game. In addition, she is shooting 55.6 percent from three-point range and ranks first in the conference with 5.0 three-pointers per game.
Thomas also leads the Rebels and stands tied for eighth in the SEC with 9.0 rebounds per game and has grabbed 10 rebounds in two of the three games this season.
Arizona (2-1) opened the season with two straight wins, but fell in its most recent game 57-38 Saturday night at San Diego State. The Wildcats committed 27 turnovers and had only one player score more than six points against the Aztecs.
Freshman guard Davellyn White leads the Arizona offense and is averaging 13.7 points per game and is third with 5.0 rebounds per game. Junior forward Ify Ibekwe is averaging a double-double with 12.7 points and a team-high 16.0 rebounds per game, while Brooke Jackson is the third Wildcat in double figures with 10.3 points per game.
Monday's game with be just the second all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Arizona. In the only previous meeting, the Wildcats claimed a 67-61 victory over the Rebels on Dec. 18, 1989 in Tucson. Monday will also be the first time since 1992 that Ole Miss has faced a school from the Pac 10.
