The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Travel To Western Kentucky
12/3/2014 | Women's Basketball
Game Notes- at Western Kentucky - Game 8
Ole Miss closes its three-game road swing with a trip to Western Kentucky to take on the Lady HIlltoppers on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from Western Kentucky's E.A. Diddle Arena. The game will also be televised on the American Sports Network with Nate Ross and Leah Secondo on the call.
Game 8: Ole Miss (6-1) at Western Kentucky (6-2)
Date: December 4, 2014
Location: Bowling Green, Ky. (E.A. Diddle Arena)
Series: Western Kentucky leads, 4-3
Streak: Western Kentucky won the last meeting
| Web Stream | Ole Miss Game Notes (PDF) | Western Kentucky Game Notes (PDF)
Starting Five
1. Ole Miss enters Thursday's game as winners of the 2014 Nugget Classic after wins over Utah and Nevada over the weekend. The tournament win was the first for Ole Miss since winning the Magnolia Classic in 2011-12. Freshman Toree Thompson was named MVP after averaging 19 points per game while teammate Tia Faleru was named to the All-Tournament team.
2. The Rebels look to make it four straight wins when they take on the Lady Hilltoppers. With wins in the Nugget Classic, Ole Miss picked up its first neutral site win and true road win with a victory over Nevada. Last season, Ole Miss was 2-10 on the road and 1-3 in neutral site games. The last time Ole Miss won more than three road games was during the 2011-12 season.
3. Toree Thompson had an offensive outpouring at the Nugget Classic. The freshman guard averaged 19.0 ppg in both of Ole Miss' wins and posted a career-high 23 in the win over Utah. Entering the weekend, Thompson was averaging just 6.6 ppg. With her 15 points against Nevada she becomes the first freshman to record back-to-back games in double figures.
4. Senior Danielle McCray showed off her passing abilities to the tune of a career-high seven assists against Nevada. McCray's previous career-high was four assists set four times in her career. Her seven assists tied Erika Sisk for the most assists by a Rebel this season.
5. The Western Kentucky game is the first of 10 televised contests for the Rebels this season. Last season, Ole Miss was 1-9 in televised contests defeating Arkansas in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss averaged 67.6 points per game in televised games in 2013-14 and played five televised games that were decided by 10 points or less. (Baylor, Arkansas (2x), LSU and Missouri).
Ole Miss at Western Kentucky Notables
-This will be the first meeting between the Rebels and Lady Hilltoppers since the 2003-04 season and the first since both Matt Insell and Michelle Clark-Heard took over the respective programs. The HIlltoppers lead the series, 4-3 and won the last meeting 73-64. Ole Miss is looking for its first win in Bowling Green since the 1982-83 season and just its second win ever on the Hilltopppers home floor.
-Western Kentucky is the second team from C-USA the Rebels will take on this season as the Rebel already faced Middle Tennessee, dropping a 71-65 contest to the Blue Raiders. Ole Miss is 56-26 against teams from C-USA.
A Win Would...
-Move the Rebels to 7-1 on the season and give them their third straight neutral/road victory. Those three wins would be the most consecutive road/neutral site wins since the 2009-10 season when Ole Miss won three straight neutral/road games with wins over San Jose State, at Florida Atlantic and at Arkansas - Little Rock.
-A win would also give Ole Miss wins in its last four games, the longest streak since winning seven straight last season.
Rebels By The Numbers
7-Number of assists Danielle McCray had against Nevada. Her seven assists were a career-high besting her previous career high of 4 by three assists. It also ties for the most assists by a Rebel this season.
11.3-Number of rebounds Tia Faleru is averaging. Faleru posted a career-best 19 rebounds against Southern and hasn't grabbed less than eight rebounds all season.
23-Number of points Toree Thompson scored in a win over Utah. It was new career-high for the freshman and gave Ole Miss' its fourth 20-point scorer this season. Thompson joins Tia Faleru, Erika Sisk and Shandricka Sessom as Rebels to hit 20 points this season.
26.6-Number of turnovers Ole Miss is forcing opponents into this season. Ole Miss has a +10.3 turnover margin and has forced six of its seven opponents into 20+ turnovers. The Rebels forced a season-best 46 turnovers 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.
77-Number of points Ole Miss scored in the championship game of the Nugget Classic against Nevada. It was the most points for the Rebels in the previous three outings. Ole Miss averaged 91.5 points per game in the first three games of the season.
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 Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky enters Thursday's game with a 6-2 record after defeating Alabama A&M 96-44 on Monday (Dec. 1). The Lady Hilltoppers have three players averaging double figures led by 17.8 points from All-American candidate Chastity Gooch. Alexis Govan and Kendall Noble are also in double figures with 15.3 and 10.3 points, respectively. Noble leads the way on the glass with 9.6 rebounds per game. Ole Miss will be the second team from the SEC that Western Kentucky has faced this season after falling to Mississippi State, 88-77, in the preseason WNIT championship game. The Rebels and Lady HIlltopppers also have a common opponent in Alabama A&M. Western Kentucky defeated A&M in its last outing and Ole Miss will face Alabama A&M on Dec. 20 before breaking for the holidays.
About Ole Miss
Senior forward Tia Faleru continues to lead Ole Miss with 17.9 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game. Faleru has scored in double figures in six of Ole Miss' seven games and hasn't grabbed less than eight rebounds all year. Toree Thompson joins Faleru in double figures with 10.1 points per game after back-to-back games of double figures at the Nugget Classic. Erika Sisk is nearing double digits with 9.3 points per game while the rest of the scoresheet is balanced with five players averaging at least five points. Danielle McCray and Kelsey Briggs are helping Faleru shoulder the rebounding load averaging 4.9 and 4.1 rebounds per game, respectively.
On Deck
Ole Miss will come home to take on No. 11 Baylor on Sunday Dec. 7. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Tad Smith Arena. The game will be available on the WatchESPN App and on SECN+.
From Coach Insell
