The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Entertain No. 20 Vanderbilt Sunday
2/20/2010 | Women's Basketball
Ole Miss (15-11, 6-7 SEC) vs. No. 20/25 Vanderbilt (18-8, 7-6 SEC)
Sunday 2.21.10 | 4:30 p.m. CT
Oxford, Miss. | Tad Smith Coliseum (9,061)
MEDIA
Live TV: SEC Network (Cara Capuano, play-by-play; Robin Muller, 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 to defeat its fourth ranked team of the season when the Rebels welcome No. 20/25 Vanderbilt to Tad Smith Coliseum Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. from Tad Smith Coliseum.
Ole Miss (15-11, 6-7 SEC) enters the weekend following a setback Thursday night at Arkansas. Senior Elizabeth Robertson scored a game-high 20 points, hit six three-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds to lead a trio of Rebels in double figures. The Vestavia, Ala., native needs just three more 3-pointers to up her season total to 66 and move into third place all-time on the Ole Miss single season list.
Kayla Melson finished with 14 points and four assists, while Shantell Black added 13 points and five assists.
Ole Miss All-America candidate Bianca Thomas leads the Rebels on the offensive end of the floor by averaging 20.5 points per game, ranking her first in the SEC and 11th in the nation in scoring. The Henderson, Tenn., native also paces the team with 5.5 rebounds per game and is 11th in the country with 3.2 three-pointers per game.
Melson ranks 11th in the SEC and second on the team with 13.2 points per game to go along with 4.0 rebounds per game. Melson also leads the league and stands 11th in the NCAA with 6.0 assists per game. Shantell Black pours in 9.8 points per game and is fourth in the conference with 4.5 assists per game.
Vanderbilt enters the weekend with an 18-8 overall record and a 7-6 mark inside the Southeastern Conference. The Commodores, however, have lost two of their last three games and are coming off a 55-39 setback Thursday night against LSU in Baton Rouge, marking a season low in points scored.
Despite the loss to the Lady Tigers, the Commodores are 4-2 on the road in conference play this season and have won three of the last four away from home. As a team, Vanderbilt scores 70.7 points per game and ranks fifth in the SEC in that category, but the Commodores are last in the conference in rebounding with just 36.1 boards per game.
Individually, Vanderbilt is led on offense by the 14.5 points per game of senior guard Merideth Marsh, which ranks her eighth in the SEC. Junior guard Jence Rhoads stands 10th in the league with 13.5 points per game and is second in the conference with 5.1 assists per game.
Freshman forward Tiffany Clarke paces the Commodores with 5.7 rebounds per game. Hannah Tuomi pours in 9.2 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game as well.
Ole Miss and Vanderbilt will be meeting for the 38th time when the two teams tip-off Sunday afternoon in Oxford. The Commodores own a 23-14 overall record in the all-time series with Ole Miss that dates back to the 1977-78 season.
Earlier this season, Vanderbilt defeated Ole Miss 86-72 Jan. 3 in Nashville to claim its 13th straight win over the Rebels at Memorial Gymnasium.
Ole Miss, however, has enjoyed a great deal of success against Vanderbilt in games played in Oxford. In fact, the Rebels are 11-5 all-time against the Commodores inside Tad Smith Coliseum and have won the last three meetings between the two. Vanderbilt has not won in Oxford since 2003.
