Women's Hoops At No. 23/24 Arkansas Sunday

Jan. 21, 2011

Ole Miss Rebels (8-9, 1-4 SEC)
This Week ...
at No. 23/24 Arkansas, 15-3 overall (3-3 SEC)
Sunday, January 23, 2011

Date: Sunday, January 23, 2011
Tip-off: 2 p.m. (CT)
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
Arena: Bud Walton Arena (19,200)
TV: None
Radio: WQLJ - Q93.7 & WTNM - SuperTalk 105.5
Gary Darby, play-by-play
Web: Gametracker

Up Next:
Thursday, January 27 vs. No. 19/19 Kentucky, 8 p.m. CT (FSN)
Sunday, January 30 at Vanderbilt, 2 p.m. CT (FSN)

REBELS AT NO. 23/24 ARKANSAS SUNDAY AFTERNOON
After falling in its fourth straight SEC game at LSU on Thursday, Ole Miss will closeout a two-game road trip at No. 23/24 Arkansas on Sunday. The game will mark the second time this year the Rebels have faced a ranked team (No. 5/6 Tennessee) and will be the first of two consecutive games in which Ole Miss will face a ranked team as Ole Miss will host No. 19/19 Kentucky on Thursday at 8 p.m.

ABOUT OLE MISS
The Rebels are 8-9 (1-4 SEC) this year and will try and snap its season-long four game losing streak at No. 23/24 Arkansas Sunday. Ole Miss is led by Kayla Melson who is averaging 16.3 points per game. Valencia McFarland is second, averaging 11.4 points per game while Pa'Sonna Hope is third averaging 8.6 points per game. Pa'Sonna Hope leads the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg) while Nikki Byrd is second, averaging 5.6 rpg. As a team, the Rebels are averaging 62.9 points per game while its opponents average 67.7 points per game.

NEWS AND NOTES
Ole Miss attempted just one free throw at LSU and finished the game 0-for-1 from the line ... Kayla Melson has led the team in scoring in four of the five SEC games this year including the past four ... the 21 points Ole Miss scored in the second half ties the fewest points the Rebels have scored in the second half this year ... after falling to South Carolina in OT on January 16, the Rebels are now 0-2 in overtime games this year ... Ole Miss' 73 points the team scored in its loss at Auburn marks the most points the Rebels have scored in a loss this year ... The Rebels have been outrebounded in four straight games marking the first time this year that's happened and the first time since February of 2010 when the team was outrebounded in four consecutive games ... Ole Miss shot a season-high 52.9 percent at Auburn ... Tennessee and Auburn each shot 50 percent from the floor as Ole Miss allowed a team to shoot 50 percent in back-to-back games ... Ole Miss' game against Tennessee on Jan. 9 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 recorded a season-low seven turnovers against South Carolina, its fewest turnovers since the team recorded six against Murray State on March 22, 2009 ... Against Vanderbilt, Kayla Melson recorded the first 30-point performance by an Ole Miss player since Feb. of 2010 ... the Rebels outscored Vanderbilt by 21 an the second-half marking Ole Miss' biggest margin Ole Miss has outscored an opponent by in the second half ... Ole Miss has recorded at least 40 rebounds in 10 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 Melson is the only player to have started all 17 games this year.

OLE MISS VS. ARKANSAS
Ole Miss leads the all-time series, 21-9, with Ole Miss holding a 8-2 advantage in the last 10 meetings. Ole Miss won seven straight meetings from 2004-10. The Razorbacks won the last meeting between the two schools, a 67-59 win last year in Fayetteville. The Rebels are 4-8 all-time against Arkansas in Fayetteville.

A LOOK AT ARKANSAS
No. 23/24 Arkansas is coming off a 65-54 loss at Vanderbilt on Thursday. The Razorbacks started off the year 12-0 but are 3-3 since. Arkansas is led by C'eira Ricketts (13.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg), Lyndsay Harris (13.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Sarah Watkins (12.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg). The Razorbacks average 66.6 points per game while holding their opponents to 57.2. Arkansas shoots 41.1 percent from the floor, 33.5 percent from three-point range and 66.4 percent from the free throw line. The Razorbacks average 39.2 rebounds per game, 12.3 assists per game, 9.4 steals per game and 4.3 blocks per game.

A WIN SUNDAY WOULD .....
- Snap Ole Miss' four-game losing streak.
- Give the Rebels its first road win of the year.
- Even Ole Miss' overall record this year at 9-9.

A LOSS SUNDAY WOULD .....
- Give the Rebels its sixth loss in its last seven games.
- Even head coach Renee Ladner's overall record at Ole Miss at 56-56.
- Tie for the fewest SEC wins through six games since the 2002-03 season where the team opened SEC play 1-5.

GET TO THE LINE
As a team, Ole Miss went 0-for-1 from the free throw line in its 78-43 loss at LSU on January 20. The zero makes marks the first time since Ole Miss did not make a free throw in a game since the Rebels went 0-for-5 from the line against Florida on February 17, 2000.

ROAD WOES
The Rebels are still searching for their first road win of the season. Ole Miss is 0-6 on the road this year and is 2-6 in games away from the Tad Smith Coliseum with wins coming against Gonzaga and Illinois in Hawaii. The Rebels are being outscored 77-to-57.5 in road games this season.

MELSON LEADS LEAGUE IN SCORING SEC GAMES
Ole Miss senior Kayla Melson is leading the league in scoring in SEC games with 21.0 points per game. Melson, who is third in scoring in all games with 16.3 points per game, is the only player averaging at least 20 ppg in SEC games and is one of four in the conference to average at least 15 ppg in all games this season.

MELSON TOPS 1,000 POINTS
Senior Kayla Melson became the 24th player in Ole Miss history to record at least 1,000 career points. Melson, who entered the game against South Carolina on January 16 with 995 career points, finished the game with a team-high 21. Melson has given Ole Miss back-to-back-to-back seasons with a 1,000 point scorer on the roster as Bianca Thomas accomplished the feat in 2009-10 and Shawn Goff scored 1,000 points during the 2008-09 season.

REBELS RECORD SECOND LOW IN TURNOVERS
Ole Miss recorded a season-low seven turnovers against South Carolina. The seven is the fewest turnovers the Rebels committed as a team since the team turned the ball over just six times against Murray State on March 22, 2009.

THREE FRESHMEN START IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES
Freshmen Valencia McFarland, Pa'Sonna Hope and Shea Nelson have each started the last two games for Ole Miss versus South Carolina and at LSU. McFarland, Nelson and Hope have combined for 32 starts this year while freshman Kenyotta Jenkins is the other freshman on the roster to start this year. Jenkins has started two games.

NELSON TIES SCHOOL RECORD
Freshman Shae Nelson tied the school record for three pointers in a game with seven against Auburn. Nelson, who finished the game with a career-high 21 points, was 7-for-9 from three point range. She tied four players who accomplished the feat a total of six times. Nelson recorded the fewest attempts (9) of any player that recorded seven threes in a game.

MELSON LOOKS TO BREAK INTO TOP FIVE IN CAREER ASSISTS
Senior Kayla Melson has recorded 435 assists during her career. She needs to record 21 assists this season to claim the fifth spot on the career list (456). This year Melson, who has played in 108 career games, leads the team with 77 and has recorded at least five assists in six games this year.

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)

MCFARLAND SETS CAREER HIGH IN ASSISTS
Freshman Valencia McFarland recorded a career-high 10 assists in Ole Miss' loss at Auburn on Jan. 13. The 10 assists is the most by a Rebel this season and the most by a Rebel since Kayla Melson recorded 10 assists versus LSU on Feb. 7, 2010.

SCORING IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Through their first 17 games of the season, the Rebels have had a total of nine different players record a total of 44 double-digit scoring games. Five players (Valencia McFarland, LaTosha Laws, Kayla Melson, Pa'Sonna Hope and Nikki Byrd) have recorded a total of 22 games of 15 points or more while McFarland, Melson, Hope and Nelson have accounted for a combined 10 20-point games.

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.

MELSON ON FIRE IN WIN OVER VANDERBILT
Senior Kayla Melson recorded a career-high 30 points 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 January 2. Melson also added a team-high seven boards and five assists in 40 minutes.

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 (16.3, 11.4); assists (77, 72); minutes (38.6, 35.7), double-digit scoring games (15, 10), free throws (69, 30) and field goal attempts (221, 196).

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.

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.

MELSON, MCFARLAND LEAD TEAM IN 20-POINT GAMES THIS YEAR
Senior Kayla Melson has recorded six 20-point games this year while freshman Valencia McFarland has recorded two. McFarland scored a career 24 agaisnt Illinois and added 20 versus Arizona while Melson scored a career-high 30 vs. Vanderbilt. She also scored 29 at South Alabama , 29 at Auburn added 21 against Illinois, 21 versus South Carolina and 20 versus Gonzaga. Pa'Sonna Hope has recorded one 20-point game this year scoring a career-high 20 versus SELA while Shae Nelson scored 21 at Auburn.

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 nine times during the season. All times are Central.

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

Jan. 20 at LSU, 7 p.m., Cox

Jan 27 vs. Kentucky, 8 p.m., FSN

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

Feb. 3 at Florida, 6 p.m., FSFL

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 No. 19/19 Kentucky on Thursday, January 27 at 8 p.m. The Kentucky game will be televised by FSN. Ole Miss will play at Vanderbilt on Sunday, January 30 at 2 p.m. The Vanderbilt game will be televised by FSN.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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