Rebels Open SEC Play Sunday Hosting LSU, Free Admission

Dec. 30, 2011

Ole Miss (10-3) vs. LSU (9-3)
Date: January 1
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: Tad Smith Coliseum
Radio: 105.5 FM (Graham Doty)
Gametracker: OleMissSports.com
Streaming Video: OleMissSports.com
Series vs. LSU: LSU leads, 27-21

QHICK HITS
- Ole Miss improved to 10-3 this season after beating SELA 72-52 Thursday night. With the win, Ole Miss has now won at least 10 non-conference games for the third time under fifth-year head coach Renee Lander.
- Senior Nikki Byrd (14.7 ppg) and sophomore Valencia McFarland (13.8 ppg) lead Ole Miss in scoring.
- Byrd recorded her 14th career double-double (and ninth this season) against SELA State with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Byrd recorded five consecutive double-doubles from Nov. 18 to Dec. 12.
- McFarland recorded her first career double-double against Cleveland State with 14 points and 10 assists. She also added a career-best 11 assists one game later against SELA.
- Byrd (10.9 rpg) and sophomore Pa'Sonna Hope (4.3 rpg) lead the team in rebounding.
- Byrd is fifth in the nation in rebounding in the NCAA stats released on December 19 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 68-68 overall and 21-39 in SEC play.
REBELS OPEN SEC PLAY HOSTING LSU
Ole Miss will continue its five-game home stand on January 1 when the team opens SEC play hosting LSU at 2 p.m. Admission is free. The Rebels (10-3 overall) are 7-1 at home this season and 3-2 on the road and have won as many games this season (10) as the team won all of 2010-11 (10-19).

ABOUT OLE MISS
Ole Miss is 10-3 this season after beating SELA 72-52 Thursday night. The Rebels are led by Nikki Byrd (14.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg) and Valencia McFarland (13.8 ppg, 73 assists). Sophomore Pa'Sonna Hope is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 4.3 rebounds per game. Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm.

OLE MISS VS. LSU
LSU leads the all-time series between the two schools, 27-21. The Tigers won both meetings last season and lead 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between the two schools. Ole Miss' last win over LSU was a 102-101 (3OT) win in Baton Rouge on February 7, 2010.

A LOOK AT LSU
The Tigers are 9-3 this season and ended non-conference play with a 66-55 win at LA Tech on Thursday. Lasondra Barrett is the lone Tiger player to average in double-figures, leading the team with 11.8 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.6 rebounds per game. As a team, LSU averages 63.5 points per game while holding its opponents to 47.2 points per game.

OLE MISS IN SEC OPENERS
Ole Miss is 2-2 in SEC openers under Renee Lander and is 2-0 under Ladner at home when opening conference play. Last season Ole Miss came back from an 18-point deficit to defeat Vanderbilt, 72-67, in the Rebels' SEC opener.

NEWS AND NOTES
Jasmine Trotter recorded a career-high four rebounds in four minutes in a win over SELA ... This season the Rebels have had two winning streaks of four or more games - a five-game winning streak from 11/18-12/3 and the team is currently on a four-game winning streak ... Ole Miss shot a season-best 57.1 percent from the floor (32-56) in a win over Cleveland State ... No team this season has shot over 50 percent from the floor against Ole Miss ... 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 14.9 ppg and a career-high 10.9 rpg ... 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 ... 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 ... From Nov. 18 to Dec. 3, Ole Miss has held four if its five opponents to 53 points or under ... Nikki Byrd has scored a team-high 26 points this season while also recording a team-high 17 rebounds ... Six 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 ... ... 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 14TH CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior Nikki Byrd recorded her 14th career double-double in a win versus SELA with 20 points and 11 rebounds. It is her ninth double-double of the season. 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 sophomores Pa'Sonna Hope and Valencia McFarland, are the four active players with double-doubles.

Active Players With Double-Doubles
Season Career
Nikki Byrd 9 14
Valencia McFarland 1 1
Courtney Marbra 0 2
Pa'Sonna Hope 0 2

MCFARLAND LEADS TEAM IN ASSISTS...AGAIN
Sophomore Valencia McFarland, who has led the team in assists in 10 games this season has 73 assists in 13 games for an average of 5.6 assists per game. She has recorded at least five assists in 19 career games for Ole Miss. This season she has recorded double-digit assists in two games with 10 against Cleveland State and a career-high 11 in a win over SELA. As a freshman, she finished the year with a team-leading 123 assists.

REBELS END NON-CONFERENCE PLAY STRONG
Ole Miss won a total of 10 of its 13 non-conference games including the final four games of the non-conference season. The 10 wins marks the third time under fifth-year head coach Renee Lander that the team finished its non-conference schedule with at least 10 wins. The 10 wins to date this season matches the entire win total from the 2010-11 season when the team finished the year 10-19.

BLOCK PARTY
As a team, Ole Miss recorded its second game of the year with at least five blocked shots as the team recorded eight blocks in a win over SELA on December 29. Nikki Byrd recorded a career-high five blocks while Kenyotta Jenkins added two and Jasmine Trotter recorded one. Byrd became the first Ole Miss player to record five blocks in a game since 2008. For the season, Ole Miss has recorded 58 blocks with Byrd leading the way with 15. The Rebels recorded a season-high nine blocks in a win at Lipscomb.

JENKINS CLOSE TO MATCHING CAREER NUMBERS
Sophomore Kenyotta Jenkins was one point and one rebound away from tying her career high when she scored 12 points and added nine rebounds in a win over SELA. Jenkins, who made her first start of the year against SELA, recorded career highs in steals (4) and assists (3). The 12 points was also a season-high.

MCFARLAND RECORDS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Sophomore Valencia McFarland recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 assists in a win over Cleveland State.

OLE MISS IN THE SEC STATS
As of December 30, Ole Miss is second in rebounding offense (45.0) and tied for fourth in assists (14.9 apg). Individually, Nikki Byrd is sixth in scoring (14.7 ppg) and Valencia McFarland is ninth (13.8 ppg). Byrd is first in rebounding (10.9 rpg) and fifth in field goal percentage (58.1). McFarland is first in minutes played (36.0 mpg), second in assists (5.6 apg), tied for fifth in steals (2.8 spg) and fourth in assist to turnover ratio (2.1).

BYRD IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Senior Nikki Byrd has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games dating back to last season. She has scored in double figures in all 13 games this season and has the longest active streak of scoring in double figures on this season's roster.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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