Rebels Test USF Thursday In WNIT Third Round

GAME 33: Ole Miss (18-14) vs. USF (23-10)
Thursday 03.26.09 | 6 p.m. CT
Tampa, Fla. | Sun Dome (10,411)

MEDIA
Live Radio: (Gary Darby, play-by-play) Listen Online FREE through RebelVision
Live Stats: OleMissSports.com

OXFORD, Miss. The Ole Miss women’s basketball team looks to continue its run in the WNIT when the Rebels travel to Tampa, Fla., Thursday to take on USF from the Sun Dome at 6 p.m. (CT) in the third round of the tournament. 

Rebel fans will have the opportunity to listen to a live audio broadcast of Thursday’s game free of charge through RebelVision by clicking on the link at game time. 

Ole Miss (18-14) earned a berth into the third round of the WNIT following its lopsided 87-49 victory over Murray State Sunday from Tad Smith Coliseum.  Shawn Goff tallied her sixth double-double of the season after finishing with 21 points and 14 rebounds.  Goff enters Thursday just six rebounds shy of 700 for her career. 

Bianca Thomas tallied 16 points and nine rebounds for Ole Miss against the Racers, while Shantell Black added 15 points and six assists.  Elizabeth Robertson was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range and ended the afternoon with 12 points. 

Thomas, who was recently named as a finalist for the Cellular South Gillom Trophy, continues to serve as the offensive catalyst by averaging 15.8 points per game for Ole Miss.  She is also second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game and first with a 35.2 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. 

Goff also averages double figures for Ole Miss as she pours in 13.7 points to go along with a team-leading 6.6 rebounds per game.  The Tallahassee, Fla., native also has tallied 59 blocked shots this season and averages 2.0 rejections per game. 

USF (23-10) reached the third round of the WNIT after defeating in-state foe Florida Gulf Coast 88-81 in overtime March 21 at the Sun Dome.  Like Ole Miss, USF also earned a first round bye after going 22-10 overall and 8-8 in the Big East.  The Bulls enter Thursday having won five of their last six games after beating Florida Gulf Coast.  Their lone loss during that span was a 79-42 setback to No. 1 Connecticut in the second round of the Big East Tournament. 

The Bulls feature four players who average in double figures, beginning with All-Big East first team selection Shantia Grace.  Grace averages 14.5 points per game and dishes out 4.6 assists per game.  Junior guard Janae Stokes is second on the team with 12.4 points per game, while senior guard Jazmin Sepulveda is right behind with 12.0 points per game.  Senior center Jessica Lawson also scores in double figures with 10.6 points per game to go along with 6.3 rebounds per game.  Junior forward Grant Porche leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game.

Thursday’s game between Ole Miss and USF will be the first meeting between the two schools on the hardwood.  USF is the fourth team on the Ole Miss schedule that is a first-time opponent.  Earlier this year, Ole Miss took on North Carolina A&T, Davidson and Wake Forest for the first time in school history. 

Ole Miss is 8-5 all-time in games played against schools from the Big East.  Thursday’s game with USF will be the first time Ole Miss has faced the Big East since losing at Rutgers 89-84 in triple overtime Dec. 12, 2006.  Other than Rutgers, the Rebels have also faced Marquette, Pittsburgh, St. John’s, Villanova and West Virginia.  

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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