Women's Hoops At Vanderbilt Sunday

Jan. 28, 2011

Ole Miss Rebels, 9-10 overall, 2-5 SEC (1-6 away)
This Week ...
at Vanderbilt, 13-7 overall, 4-3 SEC (10-0 home)
Sunday, January 30, 2011

Date: Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tip-off: 2 p.m. (CT)
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Arena: Memorial Gym (14,168)
TV: SportSouth
Dave Neal (play-by-play), Carol Ross (analyst)
Radio: WQLJ - Q93.7 & WTNM - SuperTalk 105.5
Gary Darby (play-by-play)
Web: Gametracker
Webcast - ESPN3.com

Up Next:
Thursday, February 3 at Florida, 6 p.m. CT (FSFL)
Sunday, February 6 vs. LSU, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)

REBELS AT VANDERBILT SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Ole Miss will travel to Nashville, Tenn., to take on Vanderbilt Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on SportSouth with Dave Neal and Carol Ross on the call. Ole Miss is 1-0 against Vanderbilt this season, posting a 72-67 win over the Commodores in Oxford on January 2. In that game, Ole Miss rallied from 18 points down to win. Vanderbilt is 10-0 at home this season.

ABOUT OLE MISS
The Rebels are 9-10 (2-5 SEC) this year and are coming off a loss at home to No. 17/18 Kentucky on Thursday night in which the Wildcats came back from an 11-point second half deficit to win. Ole Miss is led by Kayla Melson who is averaging 16.4 points per game. Valencia McFarland is second, averaging 12.5 points per game while Shae Nelson is third averaging 8.9 points per game. Pa'Sonna Hope leads the team in rebounding (6.0 rpg) while Nikki Byrd is second, averaging 5.6 rpg. As a team, the Rebels are averaging 63.5 points per game while its opponents average 67.9 points per game.

NEWS AND NOTES
In all games, three of Ole Miss' top four scorers are freshmen (Valencia McFarland, Shae Nelson and Pa'Sonna Hope) ... Hope was held scoreless for the first time in her career against No. 17/18 Kentucky ... Ole Miss' 11 point lead against No. 17/18 Kentucky marks the Rebels' biggest lead in a loss this year ... currently, Kayla Melson is 23rd all-time in scoring with 1,064 career points ... if Melson keeps up her current season average of 16.4 points per game through Ole Miss' nine remaining regular-season games, Melson will be 16th all-time in career-scoring with 1,210 career points ... of the 24 1,000 point scorers on Ole Miss's career list, only six have averaged more points as a freshman than freshman Valencia McFarland ... McFarland is averaging 12.5 points per game this season ... McFarland is the first freshman since now assistant coach Arminite Price Herrington to average more than 12.5 points per game as a freshman (Price Herrington averaged 14.9 ppg as a freshman in 2003-04) ... after Ole Miss's 69-65 win at No. 23/24 Arkansas, the Rebels are now 5-1 in games decided by five points or less ... three of Ole Miss' seven regular players (Kayla Melson, Valencia McFarland and Shae Nelson) all have higher scoring averages in SEC than in overall games ... in SEC play, Shae Nelson has accounted for 22 of the team's 30 three pointers ... the 21 points Ole Miss scored in the second half at LSU 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 ... Ole Miss shot a season-high 59.5 percent against No. 17/18 Kentucky ... against Vanderbilt, Kayla Melson recorded the first 30-point performance by an Ole Miss player since Feb. of 2010 ... Melson is the only player to have started all 19 games this year.

OLE MISS VS. VANDERBILT
Vanderbilt leads the all-time series, 23-15. Ole Miss is 1-0 against Vanderbilt this year with a 72-67 win at home on January 2. Ole Miss is 3-12 in games played in Nashville and hasn't won at Vanderbilt since January 8, 1987. Rebel head coach Renee Ladner is 3-2 as a head coach against Vanderbilt.

A LOOK AT VANDERBILT
Vanderbilt is 13-7 overall (4-3 SEC) and is 10-0 at home this year. The Commodores are coming off a bye game Thursday and lost to Kentucky 78-68 on January 13. Vanderbilt is led by Jence Rhoads (13.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg) who leads five players in double figures in scoring. Stephanie Holzer leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.4 boards per game. As a team, the Commodores average 72.6 points per game while holding their opponents to 62.9. Vanderbilt shoots 44.7 percent from the floor, 35.6 percent from three point range and 71.2 percent from the free throw line.

A WIN SUNDAY WOULD .....
- Give Ole Miss its first win in Nashville since January 9, 1987.
- Give Vanderbilt its first home loss of the year in 11 games.
- Even Ole Miss' overall record at .500 (10-10).

A LOSS SUNDAY WOULD .....
- Drop Ole Miss to 1-7 on the road this year.
- Give the Rebels its sixth conference loss of the year.
- Give Ole Miss its sixth loss in its last seven games.

NELSON RECORDS CAREER HIGH AGAINST NO. 17/18 KENTUCKY
Freshman Shae Nelson recorded a career-high 22 points in Ole Miss' 74-68 loss to No. 17/18 Kentucky on January 27. Nelson ended the game 7-of-12 from the floor including 6-of-10 from three point range. Nelson passed her previous career high of 21 at Auburn on January 13. Against Auburn, Nelson hit seven three pointers to tie the school record for threes in a game.

REBELS SHOOT LIGHTS OUT AGAINST NO. 17/18 KENTUCKY
As a team, Ole Miss shot a season-best 59.5 percent (22-of-37) from the floor in its 74-68 loss to No. 17/18 Kentucky. The mark narrowly missed cracking the top-five all-time in shooting percentage. The fifth-best shooting percentage in a game in program history is 59.7 percent accomplished twice, once during the 1984-85 season and once during the 1982-83 season.

GET ON THE GLASS
The Rebels started the season outrebounding its opponents in 10 of the team's first 13 games but has been outrebounded in five of its past six games. During that span, Ole Miss has been outrebounded 176-233 (29.3 rpg to 38.3 rpg) with its lone game outrebounding an opponent coming in a 69-65 win over No. 23/24 Arkansas on January 23.
REBELS EARN FIRST WIN OF THE YEAR OVER TOP-25 TEAM
Ole Miss' win at No. 23/24 Arkansas marked the Rebels' first win over a top-25 team this year. It was Ole Miss' first win over a top-25 team since Ole Miss beat No. 19/19 LSU on the road, 102-101 in triple overtime on February 7, 2010. This season, Ole Miss is 1-2 against top-25 teams.

MARBRA COMES ALIVE AT NO. 23/24 ARKANSAS
Sophomore forward Courtney Marbra recorded her second career double-double in a win at No. 23/24 Arkansas. Marbra finished the game with a career-high 12 point and 11 rebounds. Prior to the Arkansas game and her 12 points, Marbra scored a combined 18 points and grabbed a total of 20 rebounds in the first five SEC games of the year. Marbra recorded her first career double-double earlier this year at Hawai`i with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE ONE GAME MAKES
One game after finishing 0-for-1 from the free throw line as a team at LSU on January 20, the Rebels went 13-of-16 from the line in a win at No. 23/24 Arkansas. At Arkansas, Kayla Melson (5-for-5) and Pa'Sonna Hope (2-for-2) ended the game perfect from the line. At LSU, the zero not make a free throw in a game since the Rebels went 0-for-5 from the line against Florida on February 17, 2000.

REBELS COME FROM BEHIND ... AGAIN
For the fourth time this year, Ole Miss battled back from a double-digit deficit to post a win. In its most recent comeback win, the Rebels battled back from a 12-point deficit to beat No. 23/24 Arkansas on the road, 69-65. Earlier this year, Ole Miss has come back from at least 14 points down to win three games. 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 LOOKS TO BREAK INTO TOP FIVE IN CAREER ASSISTS
Senior Kayla Melson has recorded 440 assists during her career. She needs to record 11 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 87 and has recorded at least five assists in eight 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)

MELSON LEADS LEAGUE IN SCORING SEC GAMES
Ole Miss senior Kayla Melson is leading the league in scoring in SEC games with 19.9 points per game. Melson, who is second in scoring in all games with 16.4 points per game, is one of three in the conference to average at least 16 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.

THREE FRESHMEN STAY IN STARTING LINEUP
Freshmen Valencia McFarland, Pa'Sonna Hope and Shea Nelson have each started the last four games for Ole Miss versus South Carolina, at LSU, at No. 23/24 Arkansas and versus No. 17/18 Kentucky. McFarland, Nelson and Hope have combined for 38 starts this year while freshman Kenyotta Jenkins is the other freshman on the roster to start this year. Jenkins has started two games.

REBELS PICK UP FIRST ROAD WIN
After starting the year 0-6 in road games, the Rebels picked up their first road win of the year, a 69-65 win at No. 23/24 Arkansas. For the year Ole Miss is now 1-6 on the road and is 3-6 in games away from the Tad Smith Coliseum with wins coming against Gonzaga and Illinois in Hawaii and at Arkansas.

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.

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 then 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.

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 19 games of the season, the Rebels have had a total of nine different players record a total of 50 double-digit scoring games. Six players (Valencia McFarland, LaTosha Laws, Kayla Melson, Pa'Sonna Hope, Nikki Byrd and Shea Nelson) have recorded a total of 26 games of 15 points or more while McFarland, Melson, Hope and Nelson have accounted for a combined 11 22-point games.

Ole Miss' regular-season games can be heard on WTNM Supertalk Mississippi (105.5 FM) with the pregame show starting 15 minutes before tipoff. Eli Savoie will be calling all of the games in November while Gary Darby will pickup the rest of the game this season.

FOLLOW HEAD COACH Renee Ladner ON TWITTER
Head coach Renee Ladner is on Twitter. Follow her at @Renee_Ladner.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Rebels will play at Florida at 6 p.m. CT on February 3 before hosting LSU on February 6 at 1 p.m. The LSU game will be televised by the SEC Network.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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