The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Hoops At Ninth-Ranked Miami Saturday Night
12/8/2011 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2011
Ole Miss (6-1) at No. 9 Miami (7-1)
Date: December 10, 2011
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Coral Gables, Fla.
Arena: BankUnited Center
Radio: 105.5 FM (Graham Doty)
Gametracker: OleMissSports.com
Streaming Video: OleMissSports.com
Series: Miami leads, 4-2
QUICK HITS
- Ole Miss won its fifth-straight game Saturday, beating Grambling State, 78-53.
- No. 9 Miami is the first nationally-ranked team Ole Miss will face this season and the first top-10 team since No. 4 Tennessee on February 24, 2011.
- The Hurricanes lead the all-time series, 4-2.
- Sophomore Valencia McFarland (14.9 ppg) and senior Nikki Byrd (14.6 ppg) lead Ole Miss in scoring.
- Byrd recorded her 10 career double-double against Grambling State with 18 points and 11 rebounds. It was her fifth consecutive double-double.
- Byrd (11.7 rpg) and freshman Danielle McCray (5.1 rpg) lead the team in rebounding.
- Byrd is sixth in the nation in rebounding in the latest NCAA stats released on December 4 and is currently ranked first in the SEC.
- Sophomore Valencia McFarland earned two preseason honors being named to the All-SEC Second Team by the league's media and the league's coaches.
- Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm. She has a career record of 64-66 overall and 21-39 in SEC play.
OLE MISS AT NO. 9 MIAMI SATURDAY
The Rebels will face a tough road test on Saturday when the team travels to No. 9 Miami for a 6 p.m. CT game. Ole Miss is looking to win its sixth-straight game. The Rebels (6-1 overall) are 4-0 at home this season and 2-1 on the road.
ABOUT OLE MISS
Ole Miss is 6-1 this season after beating Grambling State Saturday afternoon at home. The Rebels are led by Nikki Byrd (14.6 ppg, 11.7 rpg) and Valencia McFarland (14.9 ppg, 33 assists). Freshman Danielle McCray 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. MIAMI
Miami leads the all-time series, 4-2. The Hurricanes won last year's meeting in Oxford, 82-46. Ole Miss has posted one win in Miami, a 79-61 win in 1986.
A LOOK AT MIAMI
No. 9 Miami is coming off a 92-81 double-overtime win over No. 11 Rutgers on Monday night. The Hurricanes are led by All-American Shenise Johnson (18.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and Riquana Williams (17.6 ppg, 28 assists, 20 steals). Miami is 4-0 at home this season and has won 28 straight home games. As a team, the Hurricanes are averaging 86.2 points per game while holding its opponents to 58.2 points per game.
A WIN SATURDAY WOULD .....
- Give Ole Miss a 7-1 start to the year which would be the second-best start under head coach Renee Ladner. The 2008-09 team started 7-0.
- Push the Rebels' winning streak to six games, the longest since the 208-09 season when Ole Miss won seven straight from November 15 - December 4.
A LOSS SATURDAY WOULD .....
- Snap Ole Miss' five game-winning streak.
- Drop Ole Miss to 4-9 all-time in games against the APs ninth-ranked team.
NEWS AND NOTES
Ole Miss has held four if its last 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' six games this season have been decided by nine points or less ... Freshman Amber Singletary recorded a career-high 11 points in a win at UMass ... Valencia McFarland and Nikki Byrd have started each game for Ole Miss ... Nikki Byrd has averaged a double-double for five consecutive weeks ... Valencia McFarland (SEMO) and Amber Singletary (UAPB) have each recorded six steals in a game this season ... 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 RANKED SIXTH IN THE NATION IN REBOUNDING
In the latest NCAA stats released December 4, senior forward Nikki Byrd is sixth in the nation in rebounding, averaging 11.7 rebounds per game. The NCAA stats will be released again on Monday, December 12.
BYRD RECORDS 10TH CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior Nikki Byrd recorded her 10th career double-double in a win against Grambling State with 18 points and 10 rebounds. It is her fifth double-double of the season and she is the only Ole Miss player to record a double-double this year. Byrd is 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 5 10
Courtney Marbra 0 2
Pa'Sonna Hope 0 2
MCFARLAND RECORDS FIFTH CAREER 20-POINT GAME
Sophomore Valencia McFarland recorded her fifth career 20-point game with 20 points in a win over Grambling State. McFarland recorded four 20-point games last season including a career-high 24 points in a win over Illinois.
OLE MISS IN THE SEC STATS
As of December 7, Ole Miss is fourth in the SEC in free throw percentage (66.9), second in rebounding offense (46.6) and second in offensive rebounds (20.0). Individually, Valencia McFarland is fifth in scoring (14.9 ppg) and Nikki Byrd is sixth (14.6 ppg). Byrd is first in rebounding (11.7 rpg) and third in field goal percentage (59.1). McFarland is fourth in minutes played (33.4 mpg) third in assists (4.7 apg) and fifth in steals (2.7 spg).
BYRD NEARING 100 CAREER GAMES PLAYED
Senior Nikki Byrd has played in 98 career games. 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.
