The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Look To Get Back On Track Thursday
2/1/2011 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Ole Miss Rebels, 9-11 overall, 2-6 SEC (1-7 away)
This Week ...
at Florida, 14-9 overall, 4-5 SEC (9-2 home)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Date: Thursday, February 3, 2011
Tip-off: 6 p.m. (CT)
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Arena: Stephen C. O'Connell Center (12,000)
TV: FSFL
Mick Hubert (play-by-play) & Mark Wise (analyst)
Radio: WQLJ - Q93.7
Gary Darby (play-by-play)
Web: Gametracker
Up Next:
Sunday, February 6 vs. LSU, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
Thursday, February 10 vs. Mississippi State 7 p.m.
REBELS AT FLORIDA THURSDAY NIGHT
The Rebels will look to get back in the win column Thursday night when the team travel to Florida for a 6 p.m. CT matchup with the Gators. Ole Miss will look for its first win against the Gators since a 2007 win in Gainesville. Thursday's game marks Ole Miss' sixth road games in its nine SEC games this year.
ABOUT OLE MISS
The Rebels are 9-11 (2-6 SEC) this year and are coming off a 71-42 loss at Vanderbilt Sunday afternoon. Ole Miss is led by Kayla Melson who is averaging 16.1 points per game. Valencia McFarland is second, averaging 12.3 points per game while Shae Nelson is third averaging 9.1 points per game. Pa'Sonna Hope leads the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg) while Nikki Byrd is second, averaging 5.5 rpg. As a team, the Rebels are averaging 62.4 points per game while its opponents average 68.1 points per game.
NEWS AND NOTES
Freshman Kenyotta Jenkins missed her first free throw of the year against Vanderbilt and is now 6-of-7 on the year ... Ole Miss has played six of its first nine conference game on the road ... the Rebels will play five of its final eight games at home including four straight at home starting February 6 ... 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 1,075 career points ... if Melson keeps up her current season average of 16.3 points per game through Ole Miss' eight 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 12.3 points per game this season ... McFarland is the first freshman since now assistant coach Arminite Price Herrington to average more than 12.0 points per game as a freshman (Price Herrington averaged 14.9 ppg as a freshman in 2003-04) ... 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 25 of the team's 33 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 ... Melson is the only player to have started all 20 games this year.
OLE MISS VS. FLORIDA
Florida leads the all-time series between the two schools, 16-12. Florida has won the last three meetings but Ole Miss' last win in the series came in Gainesville on February 1, 2007. Florida leads the all-time series in games played in Gainesville, 7-6. The Rebels' biggest win in the series, 24 points, a 77-53 win, came in Gainesville during the 1988 season.
A LOOK AT FLORIDA
Florida is 14-9 overall and 4-5 in SEC play. The Gators are coming off a 2-0 week last week, beating Alabama, 70-64, and Mississippi State, 67-60. Jordan Jones leads Florida with 10.4 points per game while Jaterra Bonds is second with 8.5 points per game. Azania Stewart leads the team in rebounding with 6.0 rebounds per game. As a team the Gators shoot 41.1 percent from the floor, 66.0 percent from the free throw line and 33.7 percent from three-point range. Florida averages 41.3 rebounds per game, 13.2 assists per game, 7.7 steals per game and 17.7 turnovers per game. The Gators are 9-2 at home this year and 2-2 at home during SEC play.
A WIN THURSDAY WOULD .....
- Snap Ole Miss' two-game losing streak.
- Even the series in Gainesville to 7-7 all-time.
- Snap Florida's three-game win streak against Ole Miss.
A LOSS THURSDAY WOULD .....
- Drop Ole Miss to 1-8 on the road this year.
- Hand the Rebels their third straight loss.
- Give Ole Miss its seventh loss in its last eight games.
OLE MISS/FLORIDA CONNECTIONS
Ole Miss head coach Renee Ladner spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Florida from 2000-02. Associate coach Jocelyn McGilberry served as an assistant at Florida in 1990.
NELSON LEADS TEAM IN SCORING IN THE PAST TWO GAMES
Freshman Shae Nelson has led Ole Miss in scoring in each of the Rebels' last two games. Nelson scored a team-high 12 points in a loss at Vanderbilt on January 30. Against No. 17/18 Kentucky on January 27, she scored a career-high 22 points in Ole Miss' 74-68 loss. 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 SCORE SEASON-LOW 42 POINTS IN LOSS
Ole Miss scored a season-low 42 points in the Rebels' 71-42 loss at Vanderbilt on January 30. Ole Miss has scored in the 40s in three of the team's last seven games including 43 in a 78-43 loss at LSU and 46 in a 86-46 loss at No. 5/6 Tennessee. The 42 points marks the fewest points Ole Miss has scored since the team scored 42 in a 46-42 loss at NC State on December 14, 2008.
MELSON LOOKS TO BREAK INTO TOP FIVE IN CAREER ASSISTS
Senior Kayla Melson has recorded 442 assists during her career. She needs to record nine assists this season to claim the fifth spot on the career list (456). This year Melson, who has played in 109 career games, leads the team with 89 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)
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 six of its past seven games. During that span, Ole Miss has been outrebounded 282-to-205 (40.3 rpg to 29.3 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 makes marked the first time Ole Miss did not make a free throw in a game since the Rebels went 0-for-5 from the line against Florida on February 17, 2000.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Ole Miss will host four-straight home games starting with a game against LSU on February 6 at 1 p.m. (SEC Network). The Rebels will host Mississippi State on February 10 at 7 p.m. in the "Pack the House Challenge."
