The University of Mississippi Athletics
Thomas Tabbed SEC Player Of The Week
1/18/2010 | Women's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Ole Miss All-SEC senior guard Bianca Thomas was selected as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week following her performance Sunday in leading the Rebels to an 80-71 upset victory over No. 12 LSU the league office announced Monday.
Thomas scored a career-high 42 points against the Lady Tigers and broke the Tad Smith Coliseum single game scoring record, surpassing the 40 points scored by Tennessee's Sheila Collins in 1985. In addition, Thomas joins former Ole Miss associate head coach Peggie Gillom as the only two players in school history to feature a 40-point game.
"It's such a tremendous honor to be recognized as the SEC Player of the Week because there are so many great players in this conference," Thomas said. "Sunday was a huge win for us against a really good team, and I'm just glad I was able to help my team get closer to achieving our goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament."
Thomas scored 28 points in the second half and 23 of the team's final 28 points to help the Rebels snap a four-game losing streak to LSU. After the Lady Tigers had cut the Rebel lead to two points with 8:21 remaining, Ole Miss answered with a 7-0 run, including five points from Thomas, and LSU never got closer than seven points again.
The Henderson, Tenn., native scored 52.5 percent of the Rebel's point production on Sunday and flourished against an LSU defense that entered the game ranked second in the nation by holding its opponents to 47.3 points per game. Prior to Sunday, the Lady Tiger defense had limited seven of its 15 opponents to fewer than 42 points.
Sunday's game also marked the fifth consecutive game in which Thomas has scored at least 20 points, becoming the first Rebel in 14 years to accomplish that feat. She currently leads the SEC and ranks seventh in the nation in scoring with 22.9 points per game.
Thomas is the first Rebel to earn SEC Player of the Week accolades since Ole Miss assistant coach Armintie Price won the award Feb. 5, 2007.
Thomas scored a career-high 42 points against the Lady Tigers and broke the Tad Smith Coliseum single game scoring record, surpassing the 40 points scored by Tennessee's Sheila Collins in 1985. In addition, Thomas joins former Ole Miss associate head coach Peggie Gillom as the only two players in school history to feature a 40-point game.
"It's such a tremendous honor to be recognized as the SEC Player of the Week because there are so many great players in this conference," Thomas said. "Sunday was a huge win for us against a really good team, and I'm just glad I was able to help my team get closer to achieving our goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament."
Thomas scored 28 points in the second half and 23 of the team's final 28 points to help the Rebels snap a four-game losing streak to LSU. After the Lady Tigers had cut the Rebel lead to two points with 8:21 remaining, Ole Miss answered with a 7-0 run, including five points from Thomas, and LSU never got closer than seven points again.
The Henderson, Tenn., native scored 52.5 percent of the Rebel's point production on Sunday and flourished against an LSU defense that entered the game ranked second in the nation by holding its opponents to 47.3 points per game. Prior to Sunday, the Lady Tiger defense had limited seven of its 15 opponents to fewer than 42 points.
Sunday's game also marked the fifth consecutive game in which Thomas has scored at least 20 points, becoming the first Rebel in 14 years to accomplish that feat. She currently leads the SEC and ranks seventh in the nation in scoring with 22.9 points per game.
Thomas is the first Rebel to earn SEC Player of the Week accolades since Ole Miss assistant coach Armintie Price won the award Feb. 5, 2007.
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