The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Host Mississippi Valley on Sunday
11/15/2014 | Women's Basketball
Ole Miss is back in action against Mississippi Valley State on Sunday (Nov. 16) at the Tad Smith Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
Game 1: Ole Miss (1-0) vs. Mississippi Valley State (0-1)
Date: November 16, 2014
Location: Oxford, Miss (Tad Smith Coliseum)
Series: Ole Miss leads, 12-2
Streak: Ole Miss has the last
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Starting Five
1. Ole Miss continues its season-opening five-game homestand against Mississippi Valley State on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Tad Smith Coliseum. The Rebels will take on their second consecutive opponent from the SWAC after defeating Grambling, 92-67, in the season-opener on Friday.
2. Senior forward Tia Faleru is set to join Ole Miss' 1,000-point scorer club. The Ozark, Ala., native needs just 18 points against the Lady Devilletes to reach the milestone. Faleru will become the 26th 1,000-point scorer in school history and the first since Valencia McFarland reached the milestone during her junior season.
3. The Rebels are looking to go 2-0 to open the season for the first time since 2012-13, when they opened the year going 5-0 with five consecutive home wins. Ole Miss has opened a season with two or more consecutive victories six times in the last nine seasons.
4. Freshman Shandricka Sessom and Toree Thompson each earned starts in their first collegiate games, while Oxford native and Murray State transfer, Erika Sisk also earned a start in her first game at Ole Miss. Tia Faleru started her 31st consecutive game while Shequila Joseph started her 33rd consecutive game dating back to last season.
5. In Friday's season-opener, the Rebels played In front of a crowd of 5,696 at its annual School Day game. The crowd of 5.696 was the second-largest crowd for an Ole Miss women's basketball game. The Rebels have set an attendance mark in each of the last three seasons.
Ole Miss vs. Grambling Notables
-This is the 15th meeting between Ole Miss and Mississippi Valley State and the second consecutive meeting between the two Mississippi schools. Ole Miss defeated MVSU, 72-60, last season in Oxford.
- Both Ole Miss and Mississippi Valley State have a player from Byhalia, Miss. Ole Miss' Shandricka Sessom and MVSU's Shada Nolen hail from the North Mississippi town. The pair went to different high schools as Sessom went to Byhalia and Nolen went to W. Byers.
-MVSU is the second of four teams from the SWAC the Rebels will face this season. Ole Miss opened the season with Grambling on Friday morning and will take on Southern (Nov. 20) and Alabama A&M (Dec. 20). Ole Miss is 69-6 against teams from the SWAC.
A Win Would...
-Give Ole Miss its second consecutive win and move Ole Miss to 2-0 on the season for the first time since 2012-13. Additionally, it would be the first 2-0 start in the Insell era.
-Move the Rebels closer to the 400th win in the Tad Smith Coliseum. With a win, Ole Miss would have 390 wins and would have a chance at win No. 400 on Jan. 11 vs. Alabama.
Rebels By The Numbers
8-Number of new faces on the Ole Miss basketball team in 2014-15. That number includes six freshmen and two transfers in Oxford native Erika Sisk who returns home after playing her freshman year at Murray State and Precious Person who spent two years at Rutgers.
18-Number of points Tia Faleru needs to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She will become the 26th 1000-point scorer in program history.
21-Number of career double-doubles Tia Faleru has after scoring 23 points and grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds against Grambling. She takes over the No 7 spot on Ole Miss' all-time double-double list.
47-Number of points Ole Miss freshman combined to score against Grambling. Toree Thompson led the way for the rookies with 15 points while A'Queen Hayes was also in double figures with 11 points.
389-Number of wins Ole Miss has at the Tad Pad entering the 2014-15 season. Ole Miss needs just 12 home wins to reach 400 home wins in its 41-year history at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
Scouting Mississippi Valley State
Mississippi Valley State enters Sunday's contest with a 0-1 record after falling to Tulane, 87-47, on Friday in New Orleans. The Lady Devilletes were led b A'Shanti Weathers who had a team-high 10 points. Taylor Green added nine points while Christina Reed grabbed eight rebounds in the loss. Last season. The Lady Devilletes were 9-21 and 8-10 in the SWAC.
About Ole Miss
Ole Miss is led by senior Tia Faleru who scored 23 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds against Grambling. The Rebels had four players in double-figures including three of the seven newcomers who are eligible to play in 2014-15. Newcomers Toree Thompson, Erika Sisk and Shandricka Sessom started their first games for Ole Miss. Thompson and Sisk were in double figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Freshman A'Queen Hayes added 11 points off the bench. Sophomore Shequila Joseph earned her 33rd consecutive start against the Tigers.
