The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Closes Road Swing at Florida
1/6/2015 | Women's Basketball
Game Notes- at Florida - Game 16
Ole Miss wraps up its two-game road swing with a trip to the Sunshine stat to take on Florida in a nationally televised contest on Fox Sports on Thursday Jan. 8. The Rebels and Gators will tipoff at 7 p.m. ET from the O'Connell Center with Tom Werme and Brittany Jackson on the call.
Game 16: Ole Miss (11-4, 1-1 SEC) at Florida (9-6, 1-1 SEC)
Date: January 8, 2015
Location: Gainesville, Fla. (O'Connell Center)
Series: Florida leads, 19-14
Streak: Florida won the last meeting
Live stats | TV: Fox Sports Net | Game Notes (PDF)
Starting Five
1. Ole Miss dropped a hard fought, 64-58, contest at the hands of No. 11 Kentucky in its season debut on the SEC Network in Lexington, Ky. Tia Faleru posted her fourth straight double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds while A'Queen Hayes joined her in double-figures. Ole Miss has dropped its last seven SEC road openers and has lost its last 14 SEC road games.
2. Tia Faleru posted her 26th career and fourth consecutive double-double at Kentucky. Faleru has posted six double-doubles during her senior campaign. Entering her junior season, Faleru had only posted five career double-doubles and posted 15 during the 2013-14 season. Her 26 double-doubles ranks seventh all-time at Ole Miss and she needs just five more to move into the top five
3. Ole Miss had it five-game win streak snapped with the loss at Kentucky. Ole Miss' had won its last five games including its SEC opener against Arkansas on Jan. 2. The win in the SEC opener was the first in the last four years and moved Ole Miss to 7-4 in SEC openers over the last 11 seasons. Ole Miss is a win from tying its win total from the previous two years and is in search of its first 20-win season since 2006-07.
4. Freshman point guard A'Queen Hayes played every minute in Ole Miss' game at Kentucky becoming the first Ole Miss player to play an entire game this season. Hayes, who has started the last six games, netted 10 points and dished out a game-high four assists.
5. The Rebels will play their second consecutive games on television at Florida. Ole Miss is 0-2 in televised contests in 2014-15. Ole Miss is looking for its first win in a televised contest since defeating Florida, 88-81, in Gainesville on CSS in 2012-13.
Ole Miss vs. Florida Notables
-This will be the 32nd meeting between Ole Miss and Florida with Florida holding a 19-14 series advantage after defeating the Rebels in Oxford last season. The Gators hold an 8-7 lead in games played in Gainesville.
-Ole Miss assistant coach Brittany Hudson is very familiar with the Sunshine state as she is a native of Daytona Beach, Fla. Additionally, Ole Miss senior Danielle McCray is a Florida native coming to Oxford from West Palm Beach, Fla. Ole Miss also has two incoming Rebels in Jonell Williams (Palatka, Fla.) and Brittany Jackson (Sebastian River, Fla.) Who are both Florida natives.
A Win Would...
-Give Ole Miss its first SEC road win in the last 14 outings and would give Ole Miss its first SEC road win in the Matt Insell era. The Rebels would also move to 2-1 in SEC action for the first time since 2009-10.
Rebels By The Numbers
4-Number of games in which Ole Miss has failed to reach double figure assists. Two of those instances have come in Ole Miss first two SEC games vs. Arkansas and Kentucky. Ole Miss' season high in assists is 19 set on two occasions while the low is six against Utah.
6-Number of double doubles Tia Faleru has posted this season after 21 points and 13 rebounds against No. 11 Kentucky. Faleru has now posted four consecutive double-doubles, the longest streak of her career.
11- Number of wins Ole Miss has entering the Florida game. Ole Miss has only posted 12 wins in each of the last two seasons and hasn't had a wining season since the 2009-10 season when they reached advanced the WNIT.
40- Number of minutes that freshman A'Queen Hayes played against Kentucky. Hayes, who has started the last six games, is the first Rebel to play an entire game this season.
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 Florida
Florida enters Thursday's game with a 9-6, 1-1 SEC record after a 63-50 road win at Auburn. The Gators were able to pull back to .500 in SEC action after dropping their SEC opener to LSU, 68-65, on Jan. 2. Florida has played some close games this season with three games decided by five points or less with a 2-1 record in those games. The Gators don't have anyone in double figures but Cassie Peoples is leading the offense with 9.9 points per game, while Ronni Williams is just behind her at 9.7 points per game. Kayla Lewis is also contributing 9.3 points and leads the team with 6.7 rebounds per game. As a team, the Gators are averaging 68.5 points per game and 39.5 rebounds per game.
About Ole Miss
Senior forward Tia Faleru continues to lead Ole Miss with 16.3 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game. Faleru has scored in double figures in 13 of Ole Miss' 15 games and has grabbed eight or more rebounds in 14 of Ole Miss' 15 games, with six double-doubles on the season. Faleru is the lone player in double figures, but Erika Sisk is nearing double figures with 9.2 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.
On Deck
Ole Miss will return back to the friendly confines of Tad Smith Coliseum when they welcome the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday Jan. 11. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on SECN+ with Armintie Herrington and Will Kollmeyer on the call.
From The Coach
