The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Hoops Travels To Lipscomb Friday
12/15/2011 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2011
Ole Miss (6-3) at Lipscomb (2-9)
Date: December 16, 2011
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Arena: Allen Arena
Radio: 105.5 FM (Graham Doty)
Live Stats: OleMissSports.com
Series: Tied, 1-1
QUICK HITS
- Ole Miss dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season after falling at home to Central Michigan, 78-75, in overtime on Wednesday.
- Ole Miss and Lipscomb are tied 1-1 in the all-time series. The Bisons won the last meeting, 74-71, in Nashville, Tenn., in 2003.
- Sophomore Valencia McFarland (14.9 ppg) and senior Nikki Byrd (14.3 ppg) lead Ole Miss in scoring.
- Byrd recorded her 11th career double-double against Central Michigan with 17 points and 14 rebounds. It was her sixth double-double in the last seven games. Byrd recorded five consecutive double-doubles from Nov. 18 to Dec. 12.
- Byrd (11.2 rpg) and sophomore Pa'Sonna Hope (4.9 rpg) lead the team in rebounding.
- Byrd is 12th in the nation in rebounding in the latest NCAA stats released on December 12 and is currently ranked first in the SEC.
- Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm. She has a career record of 64-68 overall and 21-39 in SEC play.
OLE MISS TRAVELS TO LIPSCOMB
Ole Miss will travel to Lipscomb on Friday for a 6:30 p.m. game where the Rebels will try and snap their two-game losing streak when they face the Bisons. The Rebels (6-3 overall) are 4-1 at home this season and 2-2 on the road.
ABOUT OLE MISS
Ole Miss is 6-3 this season after falling to Central Michigan, 78-75, in overtime Wednesday. The Rebels are led by Nikki Byrd (14.3 ppg, 11.2 rpg) and Valencia McFarland (14.9 ppg, 39 assists). Sophomore Pa'Sonna Hope is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 4.9 rebounds per game. Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm.
OLE MISS VS. LIPSCOMB
The Ole Miss - Lipscomb all-time series is tied at 1-1. Lipscomb won the last meeting between the two schools, with a 74-71 win in 2003 in Nashville while Ole Miss posted a 61-52 overtime win in Oxford on 2002.
A LOOK AT LIPSCOMB
The Bisons are 2-9 this season and are coming off a win at Tennessee Tech and a loss to nationally-ranked North Carolina. Lipscomb is led by Hannah Phillips (12.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Anna Bowers (10.8 ppg). Leah McCalister leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.5 rpg. As a team, the Bisons average 56.1 points per game while its opponents average 73.9 points per game.
OLE MISS - LIPSCOMB CONNECTIONS
Lipscomb assistant coach Jada Mincy was a forward at Ole Miss from 2003-07. As a senior, she started 33 games and averaged 7.4 rebounds per game. She is in her first year as Lipscomb after spending the previous two years as an assistant at McNeese State.
A WIN FRIDAY WOULD .....
- Snap Ole Miss' two-game losing streak.
- Give Ole Miss its first road win in its last three road games.
A LOSS FRIDAY WOULD .....
- Give Ole Miss three consecutive losses and its second consecutive road loss.
NEWS AND NOTES
Ole Miss' game against Central Michigan marked the first time this season the Rebels led at the half but lost the game ... Prior to the Central Michigan this year where Ole Miss allowed 61 boards, the Rebels hadn't allowed 60+ rebounds since 2003 ... Kenyotta Jenkins tied her season-high with eight points against Central Michigan ... At No. 9 Miami, Ole Miss scored a season-low 48 ... Ole Miss allowed a season-high 78 points in an overtime loss to Central Michigan ... Nikki Byrd has scored in double figures in all nine games this year ... From Nov. 18 to Dec. 3, Ole Miss has held four if its five opponents to 53 points or under ... All 13 players who saw minutes against UAPB recorded at least one point ... Ole Miss had a team-high four players score in double-figures in the win at UMass (Nikki Byrd, Valencia McFarland, Amber Singletary and Whitney Hameth) ... Nikki Byrd has scored a team-high 26 points this season while also recording a team-high 17 rebounds ... Five of Ole Miss' games this season have been decided by nine points or less ... Valencia McFarland and Nikki Byrd have started each game for Ole Miss ... Nikki Byrd has averaged a double-double for seven consecutive weeks ... Ole Miss held South Alabama without a player scoring in double figures marking the first time since November 19, 2006 that the Rebels did not allow a player on an opposing team to score in double figures.
BYRD RECORDS 11TH CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior Nikki Byrd recorded her 11th career double-double in a win against Central Michigan with 17 points and 14 rebounds. It is her sixth double-double of the season and she is the only Ole Miss player to record a double-double this year. From Nov. 18 to Dec. 3, Byrd recorded five consecutive double-doubles to become the first player to record five consecutive double-doubles since Armintie Price in 2007.
Byrd, along with junior Courtney Marbra and sophomore Pa'Sonna Hope, are the three active players with double-doubles.
Active Players With Double-Doubles
Season Career
Nikki Byrd 6 11
Courtney Marbra 0 2
Pa'Sonna Hope 0 2
BYRD RANKED 12TH IN THE NATION IN REBOUNDING
In the latest NCAA stats released December 12, senior forward Nikki Byrd is 12th in the nation in rebounding, averaging 10.9 rebounds per game. The NCAA stats will be released again on Monday, December 19. Byrd is also ranked 12th in the nation in field goal percentage (59.5%) and eighth in double-doubles (five).
BYRD PLAYS IN 100TH CAREER GAME
Senior Nikki Byrd played in her 100th career game on December 14 against Central Michigan. She has played in at least 29 games over each of her first three years at Ole Miss and is the team's active leader in career games played. Byrd has started all games this season.
MCFARLAND RECORDS SIXTH CAREER 20-POINT GAME
Sophomore Valencia McFarland recorded her sixth career 20-point game with 24 points against Central Michigan. The 24 points tied McFarland's career high. She recorded four 20-point games last season including a 24 points in a win over Illinois.
OLE MISS IN THE SEC STATS
As of December 14, Ole Miss is fourth in the SEC in free throw percentage (67.1), second in rebounding offense (45.2) and third in offensive rebounds (19.0). Individually, Valencia McFarland is fifth in scoring (14.9 ppg) and Nikki Byrd is sixth (14.3 ppg). Byrd is first in rebounding (11.2 rpg) and fifth in field goal percentage (56.3). McFarland is first in minutes played (35.0 mpg), tied for fifth in assists (4.3 apg) and fifth in steals (2.7 spg).
BYRD IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Senior Nikki Byrd has scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games dating back to last season. She has scored in double figures in all nine games this season and has the longest active streak of scoring in double figures on this season's roster.
REBELS IN DOUBLE FIGURES
For the season, Ole Miss players have recorded a total of 19 double-digit scoring games. Nikki Byrd leads the team with nine double-digit scoring games while Valencia McFarland has recorded seven. Whitney Hameth, Maggie McFerrin and Amber Singletary have each recorded one.
