The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Host Christian Brothers In Exhibition Game
11/4/2009 | Women's Basketball
Ole Miss returns four starters from last year's team that reached the WNIT third round before falling on the road to eventual tournament champion USF. It was the Rebels' fifth trip to the postseason in the last six years, which includes an appearance in the 2007 Elite Eight.
The Rebels return 81.3 percent of its scoring and 85.3 percent of its rebounding from last season and will be one of the most experienced teams in the conference. Ole Miss features a team with six seniors, including preseason All-SEC selection Bianca Thomas.
An All-SEC first team selection last season, Thomas finished the season fourth in the SEC with 15.8 points per game to go along with her 5.1 boards per game. In addition, Thomas ended the season with nine games in which she scored at least 20 points, including a career-high 31 points against Arkansas in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
She also proved to be one of the top shooters in the conference, finishing sixth in the SEC with a 35.3 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Thomas tied the school record for the most three-pointers in a single game with the seven she sunk at Mississippi State. She went on to set the school record for three-pointers in a season after hitting a total of 73 treys. In addition, Thomas also shot 82.5 percent from the free throw line and ranked third in the SEC in that department.
Christian Brothers, a Division II school located in Memphis, Tenn., was picked to finish in seventh place in the Western Division of the Gulf South Conference after finishing last season with an 11-16 overall record and a 4-10 mark in conference.
The Lady Bucs lost at Arkansas State 95-49 Tuesday night in their first exhibition game of the season. Junior forward Sheena DeBose paced Christian Brothers with 12 points and nine rebounds, while fellow junior Normanique Johnson chipped in with 10 points.
Ole Miss and Christian Brothers will be facing each other in an exhibition game for the second straight season. Last year, Ole Miss cruised to an 84-47 victory over the Lady Bucs as four Rebels scored in double figures. Thomas led the way for the Rebels with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Alliesha Easley tallied 13 points, five rebounds and six steals.
Shawn Goff scored 11 points and Nikki Byrd added 10 points as Ole Miss held a 40-6 edge in points in the paint.
Ole Miss opens the regular season Nov. 13 when the Rebels host Southeastern Louisiana at 3:30 p.m. from Tad Smith Coliseum.
