Women's Hoops At Auburn Thursday Night

Jan. 11, 2011

Ole Miss Rebels (8-6, 1-1 SEC)
This Week ...
at Auburn 9-7 overall (2-1 SEC)
Thursday, January 13, 2011

Date: Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tip-off: 6 p.m. (CT)
Location: Auburn, Ala.
Arena: Auburn Arena (9,121)
TV: None
Radio: Gary Darby, play-by-play
WTNM Supertalk Mississippi (105.5 FM)
Web: Gametracker - www.olemisssports.com

Up Next:
Jan. 16 vs. South Carolina, 2 p.m. CT
Jan. 20 at LSU, 7 p.m. CT

REBELS TRAVEL AUBURN THURSDAY
Coming off an SEC loss at No. 5/6 Tennessee on Sunday, Ole Miss will look to get back in the win column when the team plays at Auburn Thursday night at 6 p.m. Ole Miss won the last meeting between the two schools in 2010 but the last 10 meetings between the two schools are even at 5-5. The Rebels last win in Auburn, Ala., was in January of 2007.

ABOUT OLE MISS
The Rebels are 8-6 (1-1 SEC) this year and will look for its first road win of the year Thursday at Auburn. The Rebels are 0-4 on the road this year and are 2-4 in games away from the Tad Smith Coliseum. Ole Miss is led by Kayla Melson who is averaging 15.2 points per game. Valencia McFarland is second, averaging 12.2 points per game while Pa'Sonna Hope is third averaging 9.0 points per game. Pa'Sonna Hope leads the team in rebounding (6.6 rpg) while Nikki Byrd is second, averaging 6.1 rpg. As a team, the Rebels are averaging 63.9 points per game while holding its opponents to 66.1 points per game.

NEWS AND NOTES
Ole Miss' game against Tennessee was the Rebels' first game this year against a ranked team (No. 5/6) and also the team's first TV game of the year ... Tennessee was the first team this year to shoot 50 percent or better against Ole Miss as they shot 50 percent for the game ... Valencia McFarland tied her career-high in free throws with six at Tennessee ... Ole Miss tied its fewest turnovers this year with 12 against the Lady Vols ... the Rebels are third in the SEC in rebounds per game (42.8) and are first in offensive rebounds (17.4) ... Kayla Melson recorded the first 30-point performance for the Rebels since Feb. of 2010 ... the Rebels outscored Vanderbilt by 21 an the second-half marking Ole Miss' biggest margin Ole Miss has outscored in opponent by in the second half ... for the year the Rebels have outscored their opponents 477 to 337 in the second half while being outscored 416 to 479 in the first half ... Ole Miss gave up a season-high 82 points in back-to-back losses at Central Michigan and versus Miami ... Ole Miss has recorded at least 40 rebounds in 10 games this year including 10 of its last 13 games ... Pa'Sonna Hope became the fourth player to record a double-double this year (Kayla Melson, Courtney Marbra and Nikki Byrd are the others) ... LaTosha Laws tied her career-high with six assists versus SELA ... Ole Miss' double overtime game against Hawai`i marked the team's first double overtime game since a February 2007 game at Arkansas ... Melson is the only player to have started all 14 games this year ... Melson is averaging nearly 40 minutes a game for Ole Miss (38.0 mpg) ... Ole Miss came from 18 points down to beat Vanderbilt and 14 points down in two games this year to win, versus Gonzaga and versus Illinois ... Melson tied her career-high with 12 boards against Nicholls State ... McFarland matched her career high in assists with seven versus Arizona.

OLE MISS VS. AUBURN
Auburn leads the overall series, 27-22. Ole Miss won the last meeting between the two schools, 65-61, in Oxford on February 25, 2010. The last 10 meetings between the two schools are even at 5-5. Ole Miss' last win over Auburn in Auburn, Ala., was a 74-66 win on January 4, 2007.

A LOOK AT AUBURN
Auburn is 9-7 overall and 2-1 in the SEC. The Tigers are coming off a 73-56 win over Florida and a 67-59 loss at Vanderbilt. Auburn is led by Alli Smalley (12.3 ppg) and Blanche Alverson (11.1 ppg). Jordan Greenleaf leads the team in rebounding (7.8 rpg) and blocks (21). As a team the Tigers shoot 39.6 percent from the floor, 31.8 percent from three-point range and 64.5 percent from the free throw line. Auburn averages 66.3 points per game while its opponents average 61.6.

A WIN SUNDAY WOULD .....
- Give Ole Miss its first road win of the year in five tries.
- Give the Rebels their first win at Auburn since January 4, 2007.
- Give Ole Miss back-to-back wins over Auburn.

A LOSS SUNDAY WOULD .....
- Give the Rebels its third loss in its last four games.
- Keep the Rebels winless in road games this year.
- Extend Auburn's lead in the all-time series to 28-22.

FRESHMEN STEP UP AT NO. 5/6 TENNESSEE
Three Ole Miss freshmen accounted for all of Ole Miss' points in the first half at No. 5/6 Tennessee. Valencia McFarland, who ended the game with a team-high 16 points, had 13 points at the half while Shae Nelson had seven and Pa'Sonna Hope scored two. Nelson ended the game with 11 points as freshmen accounted for 30 of Ole Miss' 46 points in the game.

ROAD WOES
The Rebels are searching for their first road win of the season at Auburn. Ole Miss is 0-4 on the road this year and is 2-4 in games away from the Tad Smith Coliseum with wins coming against Gonzaga and Illinois in Hawaii.

MELSON ON TRACK FOR 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Senior Kayla Melson has recorded a total of 966 career points and needs 34 points to reach 1,000 for her career. This season, Melson is averaging a team-leading 15.2 points per game.

MELSON LOOKS TO BREAK INTO TOP FIVE IN CAREER ASSISTS
Senior Kayla Melson has recorded 426 assists during her career. She needs to record 30 assists this season to claim the fifth spot on the career list (456). This year Melson, who has played in 105 career games, leads the team with 68 and has recorded at six games this year with at least five assists.

CAREER ASSISTS
1. 566, Glenda Springfield, 1975-79 (134 games)
2. 559, Kim Bullard, 1984-88 (118 games)
3. 552, Dana Fortenberry, 1979-83 (123 games)
4. 531, Carol Ross, 1977-81 (135 games)
5. 455, Jackie Martin, 1987-92 (130 games)

MELSON ON FIRE IN WIN OVER VANDERBILT
Senior Kayla Melson recorded a career-high 30 point to go along with a career-high 12 free throws as she led Ole Miss to a 72-67 come-from-behind win over Vanderbilt on Jan. 2. Melson also added a team-high seven boards and five assists in 40 minutes.

COMEBACK KIDS
Three times this year Ole Miss has come back from at least 14 points down to win the game. The Rebels trailed Vanderbilt by 18 just before halftime to come back and win 72-67. Ole Miss also came back from 14 points down to beat Gonazga (53-52) and Illinois (70-61). Ole Miss trailed Vanderbilt by 16 points at halftime marking Ole Miss' biggest comeback after trailing at the half since the Rebels came back from 20 points down to beat Tennessee Tech in 1998.

MELSON, MCFARLAND DOING A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING
Senior guard Kayla Melson and freshman point guard Valencia McFarland are 1,2 on the team in several categories including (listed as Melson, McFarland): points (15.2, 12.2); assists (68, 51); minutes (38.0, 35.2), double-digit scoring games (12, 8), free throws (59, 27) and field goal attempts (175, 156).

PHENOMENAL FRESHMAN
Freshman Valencia McFarland has played in four games this year where she played 40 or more minutes. Her four games with 40 or more minutes are the most by an Ole Miss freshman since Alliesha Easley played three games with 40+ minutes during the 2006-07 season.

SCORING IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Through their first 14 games of the season, the Rebels have had a total of nine different players record a total of 38 double-digit scoring games. Five players (Valencia McFarland, LaTosha Laws, Kayla Melson, Pa'Sonna Hope and Nikki Byrd) have recorded a total of 18 games of 15 points or more while McFarland, Melson and Hope have accounted for a combined seven 20-point games.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
Ole Miss has outrebounded its opponents in 10 of the team's 14 games this year, including nine of the last 11. The Rebels hold a +4.3 rebounding margin over its opponents.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
With its win over Vanderbilt on Jan. 2, Ole Miss improved to 6-2 at home this year. The Rebels have recorded at least 10 home wins in three of the last four years. Last season's team finished the year with nine home wins.

WEATHER FORCES OLE MISS TO CANCEL TWO GAMES
Snow on the East Coast forced the Rebels to cancel their games at the St. Peter's Holiday Classic in Jersey City, N.J. The Rebels' flight was cancelled due to the snow and charter options did not work out forcing Ole Miss to cancel its trip. These games would have marked Ole Miss' last two non-conference games of the season.

JENKINS REMAINS PERFECT AT THE FREE THROW LINE
Freshman Kenyotta Jenkins stayed perfect at the free throw line and is 8-for-8 this season. She has made all two of her attempts in four games during the year.

TURNOVERS PLAGUE REBELS AGAINST CENTRAL MICHIGAN, MIAMI
Ole Miss committed a season-high 30 turnovers at Central Michigan which led to 21 points for the Chippewas while the Rebels turned the ball over 29 points against Miami which led to 33 points for the Hurricanes.

HOPE NAMED SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Freshman forward Pa'Sonna Hope was named SEC Freshman of the Week the SEC announced December 12. This is the first career honor for Hope and it's the first time this season an Ole Miss player has won a weekly honor from the SEC. Last week she led Ole Miss with a career-high 20 points in an 85-51 win over SE Louisiana. Hope also grabbed eight rebounds to tie her career high. For the week she went 10-for-23 scoring 20 points with eight rebounds, four steals and two assists.

CLOSE GAMES
Eight of Ole Miss' first 12 games were decided by nine points or less while four of those games were decided by five points or less. This year the Rebels have gone 4-1 in games decided by five points or less in those games with their narrowest margin of defeat coming versus Arizona (72-70) and their narrowest margin of victory coming versus Gonzaga (53-52).

BECOME A FAN OF OLE MISS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON FACEBOOK
The Ole Miss women's basketball team launched its Facebook page this week at facebook.com/OleMissWBB. The site also has links to the team's YouTube, Twitter and Picasa sites. "Like" the page today and become a fan to get updates on games, pictures from games and road trips, videos and more.

WOMEN'S HOOPS SIGNS FOUR
Head coach Renne Lander announced the signing of Danielle McCray, Gracie Frizzell, Monique Jackson and Tia Faleru to National Letters of Intent for the 2011-12 year. McCray Daneille McCray is a 6-1 forward from West Palm Beach, Fla. She is the 85th best player and 25th best forward in the country as ranked by ESPNU HoopGurlz. Frizzell Gracie Frizzell is a 5-10 guard from Little Rock, Ark. Frizzell averaged 16 points and seven rebounds per game at Central Arkansas Christian High School. Jackson Monique Jackson is a 6-1 forward from, Phenix City, Ala. She averaged 20 points and 16 rebounds per game at Central High School and was named the Ledger-Enquirer Girls Basketball Player of the Year and First Team All Bi-City. Faleru Faleru is a 6-0 wing from Carroll, Ala. Faleru averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds and six assists per game at Ozark High School.

2011-12 RECRUITING CLASS RANKED 39TH IN THE NATION BY ESPNU HOOPGURLZ
ESPNU HoopGurlz ranked Ole Miss' 2011-12 signing class as the 39th best class in the nation. The publication ranked the top 60 2011-12 signing classes in the nation and have Ole Miss ahead of fellow SEC schools, Mississippi State (44th), Auburn (60th) and Arkansas who was listed as "on the cusp."

OLE MISS ON TV
Ole Miss is schedule to be on TV at least eight times during the season. All times are Central.

Jan. 9 at Tennessee, 11 a.m., CSS

Jan 22 vs. Kentucky, 8 p.m., FSN

Jan. 30 at Vanderbilt, 2 p.m., FSN

Feb. 6 vs. LSU, 1 p.m., SEC Network

Feb. 13 vs. Georgia, 2 p.m., CSS

Feb. 17 vs. Arkansas, 7 p.m., COX

Feb. 24, vs. Tennessee, 7 p.m., FSN

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Rebels will host South Carolina on Sunday, Jan 16 at 2 p.m. before playing back-to-back road games at LSU on Jan. 20 and at Arkansas on Jan. 23.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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