The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Face Road Test Thursday At Arkansas
2/17/2010 | Women's Basketball
Ole Miss (15-10, 6-6 SEC) vs. Arkansas (11-14, 3-9 SEC)
Thursday 2.18.10 | 7:00 p.m. CT
Fayetteville, Ark. | Bud Walton Arena (19,500)
MEDIA
Live Stats: OleMissSports.com
Live Radio: RebelVision (Gary Darby, play-by-play)
OXFORD, Miss. - Currently tied for sixth place in the Southeastern Conference standings, the Ole Miss women's basketball team looks to return to its winning way Thursday night at 7 p.m. when the Rebels take on the Arkansas Razorbacks from Bud Walton Arena.
Ole Miss (15-10, 6-6 SEC) enters the week following a road setback Sunday against in-state rival Mississippi State. Rebel All-America candidate Bianca Thomas scored a team-high 17 points and hit two three-pointers to up her season total to 82, leaving her eight treys shy of moving into ninth place on the SEC's all-time list.
Kayla Melson added 13 points and three assists against the Lady Bulldogs, while Elizabeth Robertson finished with 11 points and hit three 3-pointers. Robertson has hit 57 three-pointers this season and needs just seven more to move into fifth place on the Ole Miss all-time single season list.
Thomas continues to lead Ole Miss on offense as the Henderson, Tenn., native pours in 21.0 points per game, ranking her first in the SEC and 10th in the nation. She also ranks second in the conference and eighth in the nation with 3.3 three-pointers per game and has already set the single season school record.
As a team, the Rebels have made 189 three-pointers this season and need just 15 more to post the most three-pointers in a single season in school history.
Melson stands second on the team and 11th in the SEC with 13.2 points per game. In addition, Melson leads the league and ranks 11th in the NCAA with 6.1 assists per game. Shantell Black adds 9.7 points per game and ranks fifth in the SEC with 4.5 assists per game.
Arkansas (11-14, 3-9 SEC) enters the week riding a two-game winning streak after picking up road wins over both Auburn and South Carolina last week. It was the first time since the end of December that Arkansas has won two straight games.
As a team, the Razorbacks score just 66.3 points per game and rank last in the SEC by allowing their opponents to score 67.6 points per game. Arkansas has held just two SEC opponents under 60 points so far this season.
Individually, the Razorbacks are led on offense by the 12.8 points per game of sophomore guard Lyndsay Harris. Harris ranks 15th in the league in scoring and 14th in assists with 3.2 helpers per game.
Senior Charity Ford is second on the team and 18th in the SEC with 12.4 points per game, while sophomore C'eira Ricketts pours in 10.4 points per game and stands 27th in the league. Ashley Daniels leads the Hogs with 6.4 rebounds per game and is tied for 16th in the conference.
Ole Miss and Arkansas will be meeting for the 30th time when the two teams tip-off Thursday evening in Fayetteville. The Rebels own a 21-8 overall record in the all-time series with Arkansas that dates back to the 1985-86 season.
The Rebels have enjoyed a great deal of success against the Razorbacks in recent years. In fact, Ole Miss has won nine of the last 10 meetings between the two, which includes an 86-71 win earlier this season in Oxford. In that game, Thomas scored 26 points and tallied seven rebounds to help the Rebels improve to 13-0 all-time against Arkansas in Oxford.
Arkansas leads the all-time series 7-4 in games played in Fayetteville. The Rebels, however, have won two of the last three meetings in Bud Walton Arena, which includes a 90-87 double over time victory in 2007.
