The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Host Alabama on Sunday
1/10/2015 | Women's Basketball
Game Notes- vs. Alabama - Game 17
Ole Miss returns to the friendly confines of Tad Smith Coliseum on Sunday. Jan. 11 when its hosts Alabama in an afternoon contest. Tipoff between the Rebels and Crimson Tide is set for 2 p.m. on SECN+ with Richard Cross and Will Kollmeyer on the call.
Game 17: Ole Miss (12-4, 2-1 SEC) vs. Alabama (11-7, 0-3 SEC)
Date: January 11, 2015
Location: Oxford, Miss. (Tad Smith Coliseum)
Series: Ole Miss leads, 33-21
Streak: Alabama has won the last three meetings
| | Game Notes (PDF)
Starting Five
1. The Rebels snapped a 14-game SEC road losing streak with a gutsy 64-57 road win over the Florida Gators on Thursday. Prior to Thursday's win, Ole Miss' last SEC road win came Jan. 5, 2013 in the form of an 88-81 win over the win Gators. Ole Miss went winless in SEC road action in 2013014 for the first time since 2002-03.
2. Tia Faleru posted her 27th career and fifth consecutive double-double in the win at Florida. Faleru has posted seven double-doubles during her senior campaign. Faleru's five straight double-doubles are the most consecutive since Nikki Byrd had five straight in 2011. Her 27 double-doubles ranks seventh all-time at Ole Miss and she needs just four more to move into the top five.
3. For the first time this season, Ole Miss had two players post a double-double. Freshman A'Queen Hayes grabbed her first double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Florida. Hayes, who has started the last seven games, becomes the first freshman to record a double-double this season. The last time Ole Miss had two players with a double-double was in an 87-80 loss at Baylor last season.
4. Ole Miss had three players in double figures for the second time in the last three games. Faleru led the team with 16 points while Hayes posted 15 and Erika Sisk added 14 points for the Rebels. Ole Miss is 11-3 with at least two players in double-figures and opened the season with three straight games with at least four players with double digits.
5. Ole Miss enters Sunday's game needing just three wins for its 400th win at Tad Smith Coliseum. The Rebels are 397-120 (.766) in games played on its home court and have only posted to sub-.500 seasons in the last 13 seasons. The first chance for win No. 400 will come against Mississippi State on Jan. 22.
Ole Miss vs. Alabama Notables
-This is the 55th meeting between Ole Miss and Alabama with Ole Miss leading the series 33-21 despite dropping each of the last three meetings between the teams. Ole Miss leads 16-8 in games played in Oxford, although Alabama has won its last two games on Ole Miss' home floor.
-Ole Miss has one Alabama native on its squad in senior forward Tia Faleru, who hails from Ozark, Ala., which is south of the Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa. Faleru has posted 20+ points in each of her last two games against Alabama and is averaging 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in four meetings with the Crimson Tide. Alabama doesn't have any Mississippi natives, but Briana Hutchen hails from Baltimore, Md., which is the same hometown as Ole Miss' Amber Singletary.
A Win Would...
-Snap Alabama's current three-game win streak in the series and give Ole Miss its second consecutive SEC moving the Rebels to 3-1 on the season for the first time since 2009-10 when they opened SEC play with a 4-1 record en route to seven SEC wins.
Rebels By The Numbers
2-Number of double-doubles Ole Miss posted at Florida. It was the first time since the Baylor game in 2013-14 that Ole Miss had two players with double doubles in the same game. Tia Faleru had a double-double on both of those occasions.
5-Number of games in which Ole Miss has failed to reach double figure assists. The Rebels have failed to reach double-figures assists in every SEC game. Ole Miss' season high in assists is 19 set on two occasions while the low is six against Utah.
7-Number of double doubles Tia Faleru has posted this season after 16 points and 12 rebounds against at Florida Faleru has now posted five consecutive double-doubles, the longest streak of her career.
12- Number of wins Ole Miss has entering the Alabama game. Ole Miss is in search for win No. 13 for the first time since the 2009-10 season which was also the last time Ole Miss had a winning record going 17-15 and advancing to the WNIT.
397-Number of wins Ole Miss has at the Tad Pad. Ole Miss needs just three more home wins to reach 400 wins in its 41-year history at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
Scouting Alabama
Alabama enters Sunday's game with an 11-7, 0-3 SEC record after falling to No. 1 South Carolina 102-59 on Thursday. The Crimson Tide, have dropped their last three games after entering SEC action on a three-game win streak. Ashley Williams is leading the Crimson Tide offense with 14.1 points per game and is joined in double figures by Hannah Cook, who is contributing 10.1 points per game Williams is also leading the rebounding efforts with a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game while Nikki Hegstetter is adding 5.6 rebounds per game. In SEC play, Williams is the lone player in double figures with 11.7 point per game. As a team, Alabama is averaging 64.1 points and grabbing 43.2 rebounds per game.
About Ole Miss
Senior forward Tia Faleru continues to lead Ole Miss with 16.3 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per game. Faleru has scored in double figures in 14 of Ole Miss' 16 games and has grabbed eight or more rebounds in 15 of Ole Miss' 16 games, with seven double-doubles on the season. Faleru is the lone player in double figures, but Erika Sisk is nearing double figures with 9.5 points per game while Danielle McCray is close as well with 7.2 points per game. The Rebels boast a fairly balanced scoresheet with 10 players averaging at least four points. Danielle McCray and A'Queen Hayes are helping Faleru shoulder the rebounding load averaging 4.5 and 3.7 rebounds per game, respectively. In SEC action, the Rebel have three players averaging double figures with Faleru leading the way with 15.7 points, while Erika Sisk and A'Queen Hayes are averaging 11.7 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.
On Deck
Ole Miss will stay at home for its next game, hosting No. 19 Georgia on Thursday Jan. 15 at Tad Smith Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on SECN+ with Armintie Herrington and Will Kollmeyer on the call.
From The Coach
