The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Go For Sweep Of MSU Sunday In Starkville
2/12/2010 | Women's Basketball
Ole Miss (15-9, 6-5 SEC) vs. Mississippi State (16-9, 7-5 SEC)
Sunday 2.14.10 | 4:30 p.m. CT
Starkville, Miss. | Humphrey Coliseum (10,500)
MEDIA
Live TV: ESPN2 (Cara Capuano, play-by-play; LaChina Robinson, analyst)
Live Stats: OleMissSports.com
Live Radio: RebelVision (Gary Darby, play-by-play; Alliesha Easley, analyst)
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's basketball team looks for the season sweep of in-state rival Mississippi State when the Rebels travel to Starkville Sunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. to take on the Lady Bulldogs from Humphrey Coliseum.
Earlier this season, the Rebels defeated Mississippi State 66-58 in Oxford to improve to 27-7 all-time against the Lady Bulldogs in Tad Smith Coliseum.
Ole Miss (15-9, 6-5 SEC) enters the weekend coming off a heartbreaking 61-58 loss Thursday night to fifth-ranked Tennessee. Lady Vol junior Angie Bjorklund hit a three-pointer with one second remaining to break a 58-58 tie and lift Tennessee to a 61-58 victory in Oxford.
Despite the setback to the Lady Vols, the Rebels still remain in the upper half of the conference standings and are tied with Vanderbilt and Florida for fourth place.
Rebel junior forward Elizabeth Robertson scored 18 points and hit five three-pointers against Tennessee and is averaging 6.0 three-pointers per game over her last two games. In addition, Robertson is leading the league in three-point shooting percentage at 47.9 percent since the start of conference play.
All-America candidate Bianca Thomas added 18 points of her own and hit three 3-pointers to up her season total to 80, leaving her just 10 shy of moving into ninth place all-time in SEC history. Shantell Black finished with 12 points and dished out a game-high eight assists.
Ole Miss is led on offense by the 21.1 points of Thomas, ranking her first in the SEC and 10th in the nation. She is also second in the conference and seventh in the NCAA with 3.3 three-pointers per game. The Henderson, Tenn., native also stands first on the team and 20th in the league with 5.6 rebounds per game.
Kayla Melson averages 13.2 points per game and is second on the team and 11th in the conference with 13.2 points per game. Melson also leads the league and ranks 10th in the nation with 6.2 assists per game.
Mississippi State (16-9, 7-5 SEC) enters the weekend in third place in the SEC after claiming a 55-53 win over South Carolina Thursday night in Columbia. Both Alexis Rack and Chanel Mokango scored 15 points to help the Lady Bulldogs pick up their fourth SEC road win.
Prior to Thursday, the Lady Bulldogs had dropped an 80-78 double overtime game at Florida. As a team, MSU averages 72.8 points per game and is winning by an average of 12.5 points per game.
Individually, the Lady Bulldogs are led on offense by the 19.0 points per game of senior guard Alexis Rack. Rack ranks second in the SEC in points and is also third in the conference with 4.6 assists per game.
Senior guard Armelie Lumanu is second on the team and 18th in the SEC with 12.4 points per game. Lumanu is also ninth in the league with 7.3 rebounds per game. Tysheka Grimes (11.3 ppg), Mary Kathryn Govero (11.1 ppg) and Chanel Mokango (10.7 ppg) also average in double figures for the Lady Bulldogs.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State will be meeting for the 79th time when the two teams tip-off Sunday afternoon from Humphrey Coliseum. The Rebels own a 61-17 overall record in the all-time series with Mississippi State that dates back to the 1974-75 season.
Ole Miss has dropped the last two games inside Humphrey Coliseum, but still owns a 25-9 lead over MSU in games played in Starkville.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State have had some close contests over the last few seasons. In fact, eight of the last nine games between the Rebels and Lady Bulldogs have been decided by single digits. Mississippi State's 66-50 win last season in Oxford is the only game since during that span that was decided by more than eight points.
