Coming Out Of Her Shell

By Jay D’Abramo

Assistant Media Relations Director

Bianca Thomas always knew she was going to be one of the best players in the SEC when she signed with Ole Miss in 2005, and after the display she put on during the 2008-09 season, the rest of the conference now knows too. 

Her journey to SEC stardom didn’t come easy, though.  Thomas, who was arguably the Rebels’ top recruit in the class of 2005, brought with her lofty expectations following an outstanding career at Chester County High School in Henderson, Tenn. 

She was selected as the Tennessee Class 2A Miss Basketball in both 2005 and 2006 and was a finalist for the 2006 McDonald’s All-American game.  She was named the MVP of the East-West Tennessee All-Star Game after scoring 26 points and leading the West team to victory. 

The transition from high school to college wasn’t as easy as she expected.  After starring as one of the best high school players in the state of Tennessee the year before, Thomas was thrust into a reserve role at Ole Miss as a freshman due to the large number of upperclassmen on the Rebel roster. 

“The transition was very hard because you get used to playing all the time, and then when I got here I was playing behind an All-American,” Thomas said.  “I also had to get used to the physicality and find a way to not be so one-dimensional when I was on the floor.” 

The 5-foot-10 guard averaged just over seven minutes a game and scored only 3.8 points per game after appearing in 26 of the Rebels’ 35 games in 2006-07.  When she was on the floor, she limited most of her shots to three-point attempts, finishing the season with almost 70 percent of her total shots from beyond the arc. 

Despite not having a bigger role in the Ole Miss scheme, Thomas earned valuable experience that year as she watched her team reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.  She also had the opportunity to watch former Ole Miss All-American Armintie Price up close and personal.

“It was a great experience because most freshmen don’t get a chance to play in the Elite Eight as soon as they get to school,” Thomas said.  “It was a lot of fun traveling all across the country and playing against some of the top players in the country.  It also helped me a great deal to play against Armintie every day in practice.  It motivated me to try and become the type of player she was when I got my chance.”

The Rebels graduated three starters from that Elite Eight team, leaving Thomas as one of the logical replacements to become a starter heading into the 2007-08 season. 

Ole Miss first-year head coach Renee Ladner elected to start Thomas in the opening game of the year as the Rebels began the season on the road at Nebraska.  Thomas finished with 10 points and four rebounds in a lopsided Rebel loss. 

“I was very anxious to be starting for the first time in college,” she said.  “I remember that it was a very loud and hostile environment, but it was my first chance to start in front of a big crowd and my emotions were flying high.”

Thomas fell on tough times again after the Nebraska loss as she missed the next two games with a minor leg injury.  To her surprise, however, Thomas was not inserted back into the starting lineup upon returning to action.

In fact, she would not start again until the end of December and finished the season with just three games started.

“It was very disappointing to me, but I accepted it because coach Ladner did what she thought was best for the team,” Thomas said.  “I felt like I could be a spark coming off the bench and help my team in other ways.”

Although Thomas was coming off the bench for the majority of the year, she still averaged 20 minutes per game and occasionally showed flashes of how much potential she possessed. 

She produced back-to-back games during the non-conference schedule where she scored at least 17 points.  Thomas hit five three-pointers and tallied 17 points against NC State before following that with a then career-high 22-point performance against UC Santa Barbara. 

Thomas began to cool off after those two games and only scored in double figures once over the next 10 outings. 

The last two weeks of the regular season, however, she once again showed her offensive skill set and scored in double figures in three of the Rebels’ last five games.  She scored a game-high 18 points and was the only Rebel in double figures in helping Ole Miss past in-state rival Mississippi State in the first round of the SEC Tournament. 

“Coming into that offseason I knew I had a lot of work to do,” Thomas said.  “It all started for me with individuals during the summer with coach (Marlene) Stollings.  I started dedicating myself to working harder and finding other ways to score.  I always felt like I could score, but I just had to show everyone else that I could.”

That momentum carried Thomas into her junior season where she once again was chosen by Ladner to open the season in the starting lineup.  Determined to remain in the starting lineup all season, Thomas knew she had to take her game to another level. 

She got her opportunity early and often to show her coaches and teammates exactly what she could do.  The Rebels opened the season on the road in South Carolina to play in a pre-conference tournament.  If that wasn’t enough, Ole Miss would be without preseason All-SEC first team selection Shawn Goff, who was out with a staph infection.

“Before we left I went to Shawn and told her we were going to win the tournament championship,” Thomas said.  “We all had to step up and carry the slack, and I think we did that.”

Without Goff in the lineup, Thomas more than accounted for the loss by scoring 14 points and grabbing four rebounds in a first-round win over North Carolina A&T.  She continued her stellar play the following day against Davidson by scoring 16 points in leading the Rebels to the tournament championship.  She was named tournament MVP following her performances over the two days.

“It felt great because we started off the season with two wins and a tournament championship,” Thomas said.  “I was glad to do my part to help the team win, but we were all very anxious to get Shawn back as soon as possible.”

Over the next four games, her scoring production decreased, leaving many wondering if Thomas could ever become that consistent scorer that Rebel fans were looking for. 

Thomas quickly answered her critics by hitting four three-pointers and scoring 20 points against Southeastern Louisiana to open the month of the December.  She went on to score at least 13 points in six of the next eight games to help Ole Miss finish the non-conference schedule with a 12-5 overall record.

She capped non-conference play by scoring 20 points against Old Dominion to help the Rebels post a 79-72 victory over one of women’s college basketball’s premier programs.  Thomas was held to only five points in the first half, but responded with 15 in the second period to give Ole Miss its first signature win of the season. 

“We lost some non-conference games that we felt like we should have won, and I wanted to do anything in my power to help us get a win against a good Old Dominion team,” Thomas said.  “We all knew about the tradition that Old Dominion brings, and we knew we had to have this win to help our chances of getting into the NCAA Tournament.”

With the start of conference play looming, Thomas didn’t change her mentality or approach, but rather used it as an opportunity to put her stamp on the toughest women’s basketball conference in the country.

“As a team we wanted to win over half of our games against the SEC,” she said.  “We felt like we were good enough to win over half the games and finish in the top-5 of the league.  We wanted to put ourselves in position to have a high seed once tournament time rolled around.”

It didn’t take long for Thomas to prove her performances during the non-conference were no fluke.  She dropped 19 points on Georgia in the conference opener and helped the Rebels knock off the Lady Bulldogs for the first time since 2005. 

If anyone still doubted Thomas was here to stay, she quickly eliminated those thoughts in the following game at Mississippi State by scoring a then career-high 25 points.  She also tied a school record with seven three-pointers made and even hit three straight treys to open the second half. 

“We felt as a team that we could go into MSU’s hostile environment and win,” Thomas said.  “I had a lot of confidence during the game because my shots were falling, but at the end of the day we lost a game we should have won and it didn’t matter how many points I scored.”

She continued her onslaught on the conference later in the year by scoring 24 points against Kentucky to help Ole Miss earn a much-needed win over the Wildcats.  In the following game, Thomas poured in 28 points against fifth-ranked Auburn to nearly give Ole Miss the upset over the Tigers.  During a point in the second half, Thomas scored 14 straight points for the Rebels to pull Ole Miss within three points. 

She scored 20 points in the next game at South Carolina to record her third straight game with at least 20 points.  She hit four three-pointers and Ole Miss hit a basket at the buzzer to beat the Gamecocks. 

Alabama was the next opponent to fall victim to Thomas as she scored a game-high 26 points on the Crimson Tide.  She struck again in the next game to give Ole Miss a thrilling win over No. 18 Vanderbilt.  She tallied a game-high 25 points and hit five three-pointers to give the Rebels their first win over a ranked opponent all season.  The Commodores actually led by three points at halftime, but Thomas hit a trey on three straight possessions to open the second half over a span of 1:22 to give the Rebels a six-point edge. 

“It was a huge win because we beat a nationally ranked team and we really needed a win,” Thomas said.  “I came out in the second half with more fire and really wanted to put our team in position to win.  Fortunately, I was able to knock down some three-pointers early in the second half to give us the lead.”

At the conclusion of the regular season, Thomas was selected as a member of the All-SEC first team as voted on by the league coaches.  She became the 11th Rebel in school history to earn All-SEC first team plaudits and was the first since former Ole Miss All-American Armintie Price earned the distinction in 2007. 

She finished the season tied for third in the SEC with 15.8 points per game and scored in double figures in 28 of Ole Miss’ 33 games.  During conference play, Thomas managed to increase her scoring output despite facing tougher competition.  She averaged 18.1 points per game against SEC teams and ranked third in the conference in that category.   

“It’s such an honor to be selected amongst the best players in the SEC,” Thomas said when she heard the news.  “We all play in the toughest conference in the country and to be named to the All-SEC first team means so much to me.  I worked really hard during the off-season to improve my game and become a complete player, but I never expected I would earn a spot on the All-SEC first team.”

A week later the Rebels began the SEC Tournament as the No. 9 seed and were slated to face Arkansas in Little Rock.  Even with the all the advantages of playing in their home state, the Razorbacks had no answer for Thomas.  She scored a career-high 31 points and hit six three-pointers to become Ole Miss’ record holder for most three-pointers in a single season. 

Her scoring output was also the second most in school history in an SEC Tournament game.  In addition, she was one of only four players in the SEC this season to score more than 30 points in a single game. 

“The most important thing was that we won and advanced to the next round,” Thomas said.  “We wanted another shot at beating Auburn and I was just going to do whatever it took to help my team win.”

Ole Miss nearly pulled off an upset of Auburn for a second time, but the top-seeded Tigers held on for the victory in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.  The Rebels, however, earned a berth in the WNIT to claim a spot in the postseason for the fifth time in the last six years. 

The Rebels faced Murray State in the second round of the event and Thomas scored 16 points in a Rebel victory.  She tallied 15 points in the next game at USF, but the Rebels were unable to steal a road win and move on to the fourth round. 

Thomas was again honored for her accomplishments on the hardwood as she was selected as one of three finalists for the Cellular South Gillom Trophy, given annually to the top women’s basketball player in the state of Mississippi. 

“It was very special to be nominated for the Celluar South Gillom Trophy,” Thomas said.  “The award is so special because it is named after one of my coaches.  I know all about Peggie’s history at Ole Miss and it’s an honor to be part of an award that bears her name.”

Although Thomas fell just short of being recognized as Mississippi’s top women’s basketball player in 2008-09, it is safe to say that her achievements on the court this season were nothing short of spectacular. 

Thomas hopes to have even greater success next year, but stresses that it won’t mean nearly as much if she can’t help her team secure an NCAA Tournament berth. 

“All the individual accomplishments and recognition is all very nice because it shows how hard I have worked, but it won’t mean a thing if we don’t make it to the Big Dance in my final year in a Rebel uniform.”

If Thomas can duplicate her performances next season, Ole Miss will have an excellent chance of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. 

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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