Rebels Accept Bid To WNIT; Receive First Round Bye

OXFORD, Miss. Following a successful season that saw the Ole Miss women’s basketball team finish with a 17-14 overall record, the Rebels have accepted a bid to play in the WNIT and will receive a first round bye.

The Rebels will face the winner of Friday night’s game between Murray State and UALR in Little Rock, Ark.  Should Murray State defeat the Trojans, Ole Miss would host the Lady Racers Sunday at Tad Smith Coliseum.  If UALR defeats the Murray State, the Rebels would travel to Little Rock to take on the Trojans.  Game times are still yet to be determined. 

Ole Miss’ selection into the WNIT marks the fifth time in the last six seasons that the Rebels will take part in postseason play. 

“We are extremely excited about playing in the WNIT and having the opportunity to continue our season,” Ole Miss head coach Renee Ladner said.  “We let some games slip away from us this year that probably would have given us an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament, but we couldn’t be more thrilled about the WNIT inviting us to take part in such a great event.”

Ole Miss is 3-0 all-time against Murray State and have not played the Lady Racers since 2001.  The Rebels are 4-1 all-time against UALR after the Trojans defeated Ole Miss 64-61 in overtime earlier this season. 

The Rebels enter the WNIT following a strong showing at the 2009 SEC Tournament.  Ole Miss reached the second round of the event for the sixth straight season after knocking off eighth-seeded Arkansas 65-60 in the first round. 

In the next round, the Rebels nearly knocked off top-seeded and SEC Champion Auburn in the quarterfinals behind the career-high 25 points of Shawn Goff, but the Tigers managed to hold off a late Ole Miss rally en route to a 71-65 victory. 

Ole Miss will begin play in the postseason with two of the top scoring threats in the SEC.  The Rebels are led on the offensive end of the floor by junior guard Bianca Thomas.  Thomas, who was named to the All-SEC first team, averages 15.8 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game.  She has scored 20 or more points in nine games this year, including a career-high 31-point performance against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament.

Goff also scores in double figures for the Rebels as she pours in 13.4 points per game to go along with 6.3 boards per game.  She is also a force on the defensive end of the court as evident by her 2.1 blocked shots per game.  The Tallahassee, Fla., native needs just nine more rejections to set a new single season school record. 

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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