The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels in Nevada for Nugget Classic
11/27/2014 | Women's Basketball
Game Notes- at Nugget Classic - Games 6-7
The Rebels head West for the Thanksgiving holiday to play in the Nugget Classic hosted by the University of Nevada. Ole Miss opens tournament action on Friday when they square off against Utah out of the Pac-12. Depending on the outcome of Friday's games, Ole Miss will take on either host Nevada or Portland in the consolation or championship game on Saturday.
Game 6: Ole Miss (4-1) vs. Utah (1-2)
Date: November 29, 2014
Location: Reno, Nev. (Lawlor Center)
Series: Ole Miss leads, 2-0
Streak: Ole Miss has won the previous two meetings
Game 7: Ole Miss vs. Nevada/Portland
Date: November 30, 2014
Location: Reno, Nev. (Lawlor Center)
Series: Ole Miss lead Nevada, 1-0/First Meeting with Portland
Streak: Ole Miss has won the previous two meetings
Web Stream | Game Notes (PDF) | Game Notes - Utah (PDF)
Starting Five
1. The Rebels hit the road first time this season as they head to the Nugget Classic in Reno. The Rebels enter tournament action with a 4-1 record after a thrilling, 58-57, win over Southeast Missouri at Tad Smith Coliseum on Tuesday. Ole Miss is looking for its first non-conference road win since defeating South Alabama last December and its first road win since a win over Arkansas at the SEC Tournament.
2. Tia Faleru led Ole Miss to a victory before heading to Reno, nailing a shot at the buzzer to give the Rebels a 58-57 win over SEMO. In the Matt Insell era, Ole Miss has won three games at the buzzer including buzzer beaters over Mississippi State and Arkansas courtesy of tip-ins from former Rebel Kenyotta Jenkins.
3. Ole Miss will be participating in an in-season tournament for the 41st time in its 42-year program history. The Rebels last didn't participate in an in-season tournament in the first year of the basketball program in 1974-75. Ole Miss is looking for two wins in a tournament since winning the Magnolia Classic in 2011-12.
4. Erika Sisk has a career night against Southeast Missouri with seven steals against the Redhawks. The Oxford native's seven steals was a new career high, besting her pervious high of six steals set against Belmont in 2012-13. Sisk is averaging 3.8 steals per game, which ranks second in the SEC, behind Tennessee's Andraya Carter's 4.0 steals per game.
5. After averaging wins by 34 points in its first two games, the Rebels have played back-to-back close games vs. Middle Tennessee and Southeast Missouri. Ole Miss is 1-1 in games decided by 10-points or less this season. Last season, Ole Miss was 5-5 in games decided by 10 points or less with wins over Arkansas, Auburn and Mississippi Sate.
Ole Miss vs. at Nugget Classic Notables
-Ole Miss is joined in the Nugget Classic tournament field by host Nevada, Portland and Utah. Ole Miss has limited series history with the other teams in the field, playing Utah and Nevada a combined three times and never having faced Portland.
-There is at least one Ole Miss fan in Reno, as former Ole Miss women's basketball media relations director Kristen Saibini makes her home in Reno.
-This weekend's Nugget Classic is the furthest West the Rebels have traveled for a tournament since taking part in the Timeout for Aids Classic in Malibu, Calif., in 2007-08.
A Win Would...
-Two wins would give Ole Miss its first tournament title since winning the Magnolia Classic in 2011-12 and would be the first in-season tournament victory in the Insell era. It would also move the Rebels to 6-1 on the season.
-A win over Utah would give the Rebels its first win over a power five conference foe since defeating Illinois at the Rainbow Wahine Beach Marriott Classic in Hawaii during the 2010-11 season.
Rebels By The Numbers
1-Margin of victory for the Rebels in a win over Southeast Missouri on Tuesday. Ole Miss defeated the Redhawks, 58-57 for its second one-point victory of the Matt Insell era.
7-Number of steals Erika Sisk has against Southeast Missouri. It was a career-high for the Oxford, Miss., native and the most steals for a Rebel in a single-game this season.
21.0-Number of points Tia Faleru is averaging through the first five games of the season. Faleru has been in double figures in each of Ole Miss' games this season and her 21.0 points is also tops in the SEC.
46-Number of turnovers Ole Miss forced against Mississippi Valley State. The 46 turnovers are the most since the Rebels forced 42 in a win over Alabama during the 2006-07 season. The 46 turnovers are thought to be a single-game record.
392-Number of wins Ole Miss has at the Tad Pad entering the 2014-15 season. Ole Miss needs just nine more home wins to reach 400 wins in its 41-year history at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
Scouting The Nugget Classic Field
Utah- Utah enters the Nugget Classic and Friday's game against Ole Miss with a 1-2 record after road losses to Creighton and No. 15/16 Nebraska. The Utes opened the season with a 100-87 overtime win over San Jose State on Nov. 14. Taryn Wicijowski leads the Utes with 18.7 points per game and is one of two players in double figures for Utah. She also leads Utah on the glass with 12.0 rebounds per game.
Nevada- The host Wolfpack are back at home after three straight road games. The Wolfpack are 1-3 after a 63-48 loss to San Francisco on Tuesday night in California. The lone win for Nevada is a 71-58 win over UC Santa Barbara. Terilyn Moe and Mimi Mungedi lead the offense with 16.0 points and 12.8 points per game, respectively. Mungedi leads the way on the glass with 8.3 boards per game.
Portland- The Pilots enter the weekend with a 0-3 record after opening the season with losses to Oregon State, Cal State -Northridge and Cal Poly. The Pilots have also played all three games on the road. The team has three in double figures led by Cassandra Brown who is averaging 16.3 points per game and is joined in double figures by Jasmine Wooten and Kari Luttinen who are both averaging 10.7 points per game. Brown leads the way on the glass with 7.3 rebounds per game.
About Ole Miss
Senior forward Tia Faleru continues to lead Ole Miss with 21.0 points per game and 12.4 rebounds per game. Faleru has posted double figures in each game of the 2014-15 season and has posted two games of 20 or more points already this season. Erika Sisk joins Faleru in double figures with 10.2 points per game after a season-high 20 against Middle Tennessee State. The rest of the scoresheet is balanced as Ole Miss has seven players averaging five or more points. Toree Thompson is averaging 6.8 points per game while Danielle McCray and Kelsey Briggs are is pulling down 4.6 rebounds per game.
On Deck
Ole Miss will travel to Western Kentucky to take on The Lady Hilltoppers on Thursday Dec. 4. Tipoff is et for 7 p.m. CT at WKU's E.A. Diddle Arena.
