The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Open Five-Game Homestand Monday With Magnolia Classic
12/18/2011 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2011
Date: December 19 & 21
Time: 5 p.m. & 1 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: Tad Smith Coliseum
Radio: 105.5 FM (Graham Doty)
Live Stats/Video: OleMissSports.com
Series vs. Murray St.: Ole Miss leads, 4-0
Series vs. Cleveland St: First meeting
2011 Magnolia Classic
Monday, December 19:
Ole Miss (7-3) vs. Murray State (3-6), 5 p.m.
Tuesday, December 20:
Murray State vs. Cleveland State (3-5), 5 p.m.
Wednesday, December 21:
Ole Miss vs. Cleveland State, 1 p.m.
Ole Miss Head Coach: Renee Ladner
Career: 65-68 (5th)
At Ole Miss: Same
Murray State Head Coach: Rob Cross
Career: 48-53 (4th)
At Murray State: Same
Cleveland State Head Coach: Kate Peterson Abiad
Career: 109-145 (9th)
At Cleveland State: Same
QUICK HITS
- Ole Miss improved to 7-3 this season with a come-from-behind win at Lipscomb on Friday, 72-57.
- Ole Miss will host the annual Magnolia Classic Monday through Wednesday with games against Murray State and Cleveland State.
- Sophomore Valencia McFarland (15.7 ppg) and senior Nikki Byrd (14.3 ppg) lead Ole Miss in scoring.
- Byrd recorded her 12th career double-double against Lipscomb with 14 points and 13 rebounds. It was her seventh double-double in the last eight games. Byrd recorded five consecutive double-doubles from Nov. 18 to Dec. 12.
- Byrd (11.4 rpg) and sophomore Pa'Sonna Hope (5.1 rpg) lead the team in rebounding.
- Byrd is 12th in the nation in rebounding in the NCAA stats released on December 12 and is currently ranked first in the SEC.
- Ole Miss has come back from double-digit deficits to win three times this year.
- Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm. She has a career record of 65-68 overall and 21-39 in SEC play.
REBELS HOST MAGNOLIA CLASSIC
Ole Miss will host its annual Magnolia Classic Monday-Wednesday. The Rebels will take on Murray State on Monday at 5 p.m. and will host Cleveland State on Wednesday at 1 p.m. CT. The Rebels (7-3 overall) are 4-1 at home this season and 3-2 on the road.
ABOUT OLE MISS
Ole Miss is 7-3 this season after beating Lipscomb on the road Friday night, 72-57. The Rebels are led by Nikki Byrd (14.3 ppg, 11.4 rpg) and Valencia McFarland (15.7 ppg, 44 assists). Sophomore Pa'Sonna Hope is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.1 rebounds per game. Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm.
OLE MISS VS. MURRAY STATE
Ole Miss leads the all-time series, 4-0. The Rebels won the last meeting, 87-49, in Oxford in 2009 in the WNIT. Three of the four games in the series have been played in Oxford.
A LOOK AT MURRAY STATE
The Racers are 3-6 this season and will be playing their first game since a 78-48 loss to Evansville on Dec. 10. Murray State is led by Erica Burgess who averages 14.4 points per game and Mariah Robinson who averages 13.4 points per game. As a team, the Racers average 69.6 points per game while its opponents average 71.3 points per game.
OLE MISS VS. CLEVELAND STATE
This will be the first meeting between Ole Miss and Cleveland State.
A LOOK AT CLEVELAND STATE
Cleveland State is 3-5 this season and fell in its last game, 81-42, against Toledo on December 10. The Vikings are led by Destinee Blue who averages 13.2 points per game and Shalonda Winton who averages 11.8 points per game and a team-best 9.9 boards per game. As a team, Cleveland State averages 59.0 points per game while its opponents average 68.2 points per game.
NEWS AND NOTES
In its last two games, Valencia McFarland has scored a combined 47 points but only scored a combined 10 points in the first half ... The Rebels scored a season-high 41 points in the second half at Lipscomb while holding the Bisons to 18 points in the second half ... Nikki Byrd has doubled her rebound and scoring averages from last season and is averaging a career-high 14.3 ppg and a career-high 11.4 prg ... 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 game 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 10 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 ... 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 eight 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 12TH CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior Nikki Byrd recorded her 12th career double-double in a win at Lipscomb with 14 points and 13 rebounds. It is her seventh 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 7 12
Courtney Marbra 0 2
Pa'Sonna Hope 0 2
MCFARLAND RECORDS SEVENTH CAREER 20-POINT GAME
Sophomore Valencia McFarland recorded her seventh career 20-point game with 23 points against Lipscomb. She tied her career high with 24 points against Central Michigan this season she also scored 24 points in a win versus Illinois last season. McFarland recorded four 20-point games last season.
OLE MISS IN THE SEC STATS
As of December 16, Ole Miss is fourth in the SEC in free throw percentage (67.0), second in rebounding offense (45.6) and third in offensive rebounds (19.0). Individually, Valencia McFarland is fifth in scoring (15.7 ppg) and Nikki Byrd is tied for seventh (14.3 ppg). Byrd is first in rebounding (11.4 rpg) and fifth in field goal percentage (55.7). McFarland is first in minutes played (35.5 mpg), tied for fifth in assists (4.4 apg) and fifth in steals (3.1 spg).
BYRD IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Senior Nikki Byrd has scored in double figures in 11 consecutive games dating back to last season. She has scored in double figures in all 10 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 21 double-digit scoring games. Nikki Byrd leads the team with 10 double-digit scoring games while Valencia McFarland has recorded eight. Whitney Hameth, Maggie McFerrin and Amber Singletary have each recorded one.
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).
MCCRAY CONSISTENT FOR REBELS
Freshman Danielle McCray has played in all of the team's games this season and has made four starts against North Florida, Grambling State, Central Michigan and Lipscomb. She recorded a career-high nine points in a win at Lipscomb. For the year, she is averaging 5.2 points per game and is third in rebounding averaging 4.2 boards per game. McCray has recorded at least five points in six games this year and at least five rebounds in five games.
