The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Hosts South Alabama
12/11/2014 | Women's Basketball
Game Notes- vs. South Alabama - Game 10
Ole Miss is back on the hardwood after a break for exams when they host South Alabama on Sunday at Tad Smith Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast online on SECN+ with Will Kollymeyer and Armintie Herrington on the call. The Rebels are in the midst of a six game homestand, which includes opening SEC action against Arkansas on Jan. 2
Game 9: Ole Miss (6-3) vs. South Alabama (3-3)
Date: December 14, 2014
Location: Oxford, Miss. (Tad Smith Coliseum)
Series: Ole Miss leads, 4-2
Streak: Ole Miss has won the last two meetings
| SECN+ Link | Game Notes (PDF)
Starting Five
1. Ole Miss enters Sunday's game with a 6-3 record after falling to No. 11/11 Baylor 96-54 on Dec. 7. The Rebels had a trio with nine points to lead the offense while Tia Faleru pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for her third game with double figure rebounds. The loss was the second straight for Ole Miss, who opened the season 6-1 and won the Nugget Classic.
2. The loss at home was just the second home loss for Ole Miss this season. Ole Miss is 392-120 (.766) all-time at Tad Smith Coliseum and hasn't has a sub.500 record at home in the last 13 seasons. In the Matt Insell era, the Rebels have won 13 home games including thrillers over Mississippi State and Auburn last season.
3. Tia Faleru posted a game-high and career-best five blocks against Baylor. The five blocks are the most for an Ole Miss player this season and ties for the most by an SEC player this season. Faleru is just three blocks away from her 50th career block, which would move her five blocks from No. 5 on the single-season blocks list.
4. Ole Miss seniors Tia Faleru, Danielle McCray and Amber Singletary are all approaching the 100 games played milestone. McCray will play her 100th game on against South Alabama while Faleru will get to 100 against Alabama A&M. Singletary is eight games away and can hit the mark in Ole Miss' road contest at Florida on Jan. 8.
5. With wins in the rest of the non-conference slate, Ole Miss has a chance to go 10-3 for its best non-conference record since the 2011-12 season when they also went 10-3. The last time Ole Miss won more than 10 non-conference games was in 2008-09 when the Rebels posted an 11-4 non-conference record.
Ole Miss vs. South Alabama Notables
-This will be the second consecutive year, Ole Miss and South Alabama are meeting and the seventh meeting all-time between the squads. Ole Miss leads the series, 4-2 and has won the last two meetings. The Rebels are 2-0 in games played in Oxford.
-The Jaguars don't have any players from Mississippi but Ole Miss' Tia Faleru hails from Ozark, Ala., which is about 3.5 hours east of South Alabama, which is located in Mobile.
-Ole Miss is 38-10 against opponents from the Sun Belt Conference. South Alabama is the lone foe for the Rebels from the Sun Belt this season. Last season, Ole Miss faced Louisiana-Monroe and South Alabama defeating both teams.
A Win Would...
-Snap Ole Miss' current two-game skid and move the Rebels to 7-3 on the season. It would also give Ole Miss its third consecutive victory over the Jaguars and their fifth home win of the 2014-15 season.
Rebels By The Numbers
0- Number of Ole Miss players in double figures against Baylor last Sunday. It marked the first time this season and the fist time since playing Tennessee last January in Knoxville.
5-Number of blocks Tia Faleru had in Ole Miss' game vs. No. 11 Baylor. It is the most blocks for Faleru this season and is tied for the most blocks by an SEC player this season.
12-Number of rebounds Tia Faleru had against No. 11 Baylor. It was Faleru's third game of double-figure rebounds this season and her first since posting a career-high 19 against Southern on Nov. 20. Faleru is averaging 11.0 rebounds per game, which is second best in the SEC.
43-Number of points Baylor's Nina Davis scored in Ole Miss game vs. Baylor. Davis' 43 points are the most points scored by a player at Tad Smith Coliseum and marked the first time a player had scored 40+ on Ole Miss since Janet Holt from Tennessee Tech in 2001.
392-Number of wins Ole Miss has at the Tad Pad entering the 2014-15 season. Ole Miss needs just eight more home wins to reach 400 wins in its 41-year history at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
Scouting South Alabama
South Alabama enters Sunday's game with a 3-3 record after dropping a 66-62 contest to Nicholls State on Dec. 6 in Louisiana. Breanna Hall is leading the Jaguar offense with 18.0 points per game while teammate Simonne Potts is next averaging 8.7 points per game. Potts and Chyna Ellis are leading the rebounding efforts with 6.5 and 6.3 rebounds per game, respectively. The Jaguars and Rebels have a common opponent in Southern Miss. South Alabama dropped a 64-53 contest to the Golden Eagles in their season opener on Nov. 17 while Ole Miss will face Southern Miss on Dec. 18 in Oxford. The Rebels are the first SEC and power five foe for the Jaguars.
About Ole Miss
Senior forward Tia Faleru continues to lead Ole Miss with 15.9 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game. Faleru has scored in double figures in seven of Ole Miss' nine games and hasn't grabbed less than eight rebounds all year. Faleru is the lone player in double figures but Erika Sisk and Toree Thompson are nearing double figures with 8.7 and 8.4 points, respectively. The rest of the scoresheet is balanced with 10 players averaging at least four points. Danielle McCray and Kelsey Briggs are helping Faleru shoulder the rebounding load averaging 4.9 and 4.0 rebounds per game, respectively.
On Deck
Ole Miss will renew its rivalry with Southern Miss on Thursday Dec. 18. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at Tad Smith Arena. The game will be available on the WatchESPN App and on SECN+.
