The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Welcomes Alabama A&M
12/19/2014 | Women's Basketball
Game Notes- vs. Alabama A&M - Game 12
Ole Miss will host Alabama A&M out of the SWAC in its final game before breaking for the Christmas holidays on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. and will be broadcast online on SECN+ with Will Kollmeyer and Armintie Herrington on the call.
Game 12: Ole Miss (8-3) vs. Alabama A&M (0-9)
Date: December 20, 2014
Location: Oxford, Miss. (Tad Smith Coliseum)
Series: Ole Miss leads, 1-0
Streak: Ole Miss has won the only other meeting
| SECN+ Link | Game Notes (PDF)
Starting Five
1. Ole Miss enters Saturdays game as winners of their its last two with a 68-66 win over instate rival Southern Miss on Thursday. Tia Faleru led the offense with a game-high 17 points and nine rebounds. A'Queen Hayes, who made her second consecutive start, and Erika Sisk were also in double figures with 10 points each.
2. The Rebels 68-66 win over Southern Miss marked the second consecutive time the game between the two teams was decided by two points. In total, five of the last six meetings between the teams have been decided by a single possession. Ole Miss is 2-0 in games decided by two points or less this season and had a buzzer beater win over Southeast Missouri earlier in the year.
3. A'Queen Hayes has a career night from the free throw line vs. Southern Miss. Hayes went to the line 11 times and converted six times. Her free throws made and attempted were both career highs and her 11 trips to the line are the most for a Rebel this season. Hayes (11) and Faleru (10) have the most free throw attempts in a single game for Ole Miss this season.
4. Tia Faleru is set to play her 100th career game vs. Alabama A&M. She will join Danielle McCray as active Ole Miss players who have played in 100 or more career games. Amber Singletary will also join this group this season and can reach the milestone against Alabama on Jan. 11
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. Alabama A&M Notables
-This will be the second meeting between Ole Miss and Alabama A&M and the first since the 2007-08 season. The Rebels lead the series, 1-0. Alabama A&M will be the fourth team from the SWAC Ole Miss has faced this season with Ole Miss owning a 3-0 record. The Rebels are 71-6 all-time against teams from the SWAC.
-Alabama A&M head coach Semeka Randall and Ole Miss assistant coach Alex Simmons both played collegiate basketball at Tennessee. Randall, one of the three "Meeks" led the Lady Vols to the national championship in 1998 and 2000, while Simmons led the Lady Vols to back-to-back championships in 2007 and 2008.
A Win Would...
-Give Ole Miss is third consecutive win, which would equal the longest winning streak for the Rebels this season. It would also be the seventh home win for Ole Miss and would put the Rebels just two home wins shy of equaling the number of home wins during the 2013-14 season.
Rebels By The Numbers
1- Number of games Tia Faleru needs to play in to reach 100 career games played. Classmate Danielle McCray reached the milestone against South Alabama in the Rebels last outing. Each of Ole Miss seniors are poised to reach the 100 games played mark during the 2014-15 season.
2-Number of points that Ole Miss defeated Southern Miss by on Thursday. It was Ole Miss' second game this season decided by one possession this season. Ole Miss is 2-0 in game decided by two points or less.
5-Span of games in which Ole Miss has failed to have a player score 20 points. The last time Ole Miss had a 20-point scorer was Nov. 28 against Utah when Toree Thompson netted a career-high 23 points. Ole Miss opened the season with a 20-point scorer in each of its first four games.
20-Number of points off turnover Ole Miss scored against Southern Miss. The Rebels scored 20 points on Southern Miss miscues to just eight points off turnovers for the Lady Eagles.
393-Number of wins Ole Miss has at the Tad Pad. Ole Miss needs just six more home wins to reach 400 wins in its 41-year history at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
Scouting Alabama A&M
Alabama A&M enters Saturday's game with a 0-9 record after falling to Eastern Kentucky, 62-56 on Wednesday. The Lady Bulldogs are led by Janie Myles who is averaging 22.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Brittany Strickland who is averaging 15.4 points per game joins Myles in double figures. The teams have three common opponents in Southeast Missouri, Alabama and Western Kentucky. Ole Miss defeated Southeast Missouri and lost to Western Kentucky and will take on Alabama on Jan. 11. Alabama A&M head coach Semeka Randall is in her second year at the helm
About Ole Miss
Senior forward Tia Faleru continues to lead Ole Miss with 15.6 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game. Faleru has scored in double figures in nine of Ole Miss'11 games and has grabbed eight or more rebounds in 10 of Ole Miss' 11 games. Faleru is the lone player in double figures but Erika Sisk and Toree Thompson are nearing double figures with 9.3 and 7.4 points, respectively. The rest of the scoresheet is balanced with 11 players averaging at least four points. Danielle McCray and Kelsey Briggs are helping Faleru shoulder the rebounding load averaging 4.9 and 3.6 rebounds per game, respectively.
On Deck
Ole Miss will break for the holidays before returning home to close out the non-conference slate against Southeast Louisiana on Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN's WatchESPN App and on SECN+.
From The Coach
