The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Hosts No. 11/10 Kentucky on Monday Night
2/21/2015 | Women's Basketball
Game Notes- vs. No. 11/10 Kentucky - Game 27
Ole Miss returns home to the friendly confines of Tad Smith Coliseum, when it hosts No. 11/10 Kentucky on the SEC Network Monday Night game. Tipoff is set for 6 pm and will feature former Rebel head coach and player, Carol Ross on the call along with Brenda VanLengen.
Game 27: Ole Miss (15-11, 5-8 SEC) vs. Kentucky (19-7, 8-5 SEC)
Date: February 23, 2015
Location: Oxford, Miss. (Tad Smith Coliseum)
Series: Ole Miss leads, 20-16
Streak: Kentucky has won the six games
| TV: SEC Network | Game Notes (PDF)
Starting Five
1. Ole Miss picked up a 61-56 road win at Auburn on Thursday night. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak and gave the Rebels their second SEC road win. With the win, Ole Miss is guaranteed a winning regular season record and earns the possibility of a postseason berth - the first since 2009-10 when the Rebels played in the WNIT.
2. With 13 rebounds against Auburn, Tia Faleru picked up her 800th career rebound. She is one of seven players with 1000 points, 800 rebounds and 150 steals and is the first to 800 rebounds since Armintie Price who played from 2004-07. Faleru is 197 rebounds from 1,000 and should she reach it would become one of three players to hit the 1,000/1,000 mark.
3. Tia Faleru posted her second game of 20+ in the last four outings with 22 points against Auburn. It was her 17th career game of 20+. Additionally, Faleru posted her second consecutive double-double and earned her 31st career double, moving her into the top 5 all-time at Ole Miss - making her one of just five player with 30+ career double-doubles.
4. A'Queen Hayes followed up her career-high 16 points at Mizzou with nine points against Auburn. Hayes, who took over the starting point guard position on Dec. 14, is averaging 8.0 points in SEC action and has reached double figures in five SEC games.
5. Ole Miss is looking for its 400th win at Tad Smith Coliseum and with one win will reach the milestone. The Rebels are 399-123 (.764) on their home floor and has only posted two sub-.500 records in each of the last 13 seasons. This year, Ole Miss is 11-5 on its home floor and 3-3 against SEC foes.
Ole Miss vs. Kentucky Notables
-This will be the 37th meeting between Ole Miss and Kentucky with the Rebels holding a slim 20-16 series advantage despite dropping the last six contests to the Wildcats. This will be Kentucky's first trip to Oxford during the Insell era.
-There are lots of familiar faces on both sidelines as Ole Miss head coach Matt Insell spent five seasons as the top assistant at Kentucky before taking over the Ole Miss program last season. The "teacher" has gotten the best of the "student" in the two meetings, with the Kentucky owing a 2-0 series record since Insell took over at Ole Miss.
-This will be the third televised game between these teams. Last season's meeting in Lexington was televised on Fox Sports Net and the first meeting this season was on the SEC Network. Monday's game will be broadcast live on SEC Network as apart of their Monday Night package.
-Current Ole Miss graduate manager Brian Sensibaugh is also quite familiar with Kentucky after spending time working with both the Kentucky men and women's teams as a manager during his undergraduate days at UK.
A Win Would...
-Move Ole Miss to 16-8, 6-8 SEC and give Ole Miss its first win over Kentucky in the last seven meetings. It would also be the first win for Ole Miss head coach Matt Insell against his former team. The win would also be Ole Miss' second over a ranked opponent this season and would be the first time Ole Miss defeated two ranked opponents in one season since 2009-10.
Rebels By The Numbers
8-Number of three-pointers from Gracie Frizzell against Alabama on Jan. 11. The Little Rock, Arkansas native set a new Ole Miss single-game record and Tad Smith record. Her eight triples are the most in the SEC this season.
15- Number of wins the Ole Miss team currently has. Ole Miss hadn't posted more than 12 wins since the 2009-10 season and secured a winning regular season record with a win over Auburn. It's the first winning record since 2009-10 and puts Ole Miss five wins from a 20-win season, which would be the first since 2006-07.
17-Number of career 20-point outings for Tia Faleru. She leads all active players and has recorded six 20-point games this season and has reached the mark in two of Ole Miss' last four games.
31-Number of career double-doubles for Tia Faleru after 22 points and 13 rebounds against Auburn. With the double-double, Faleru moved into the top five all-time at Ole Miss with 31 career double-doubles. She is one of just five players with 30+ career double-doubles.
803-Number of rebounds Tia Faleru currently has. She became one of seven players with 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 150 steals after recording her 800th rebound at Auburn. She is approaching her 100th assist and once she reaches it she will become one of four players with 1,000 points, 800 rebounds, 150 steals and 100 assists and the first since Armintie Price (2004-07).
Scouting Kentucky
Kentucky enters Monday's game with a 19-7, 8-5 SEC record after dropping a 81-69 contest to Texas A&M on Thursday, the loss was the second straight for the Wildcats who hadn't dropped back-to-back games all season. Kentucky has four players averaging double figures led by Makayla Epps who has averaging 15.2 points per game. Jennifer O'Neill is next with 14.3 points per game. Additionally, LInnae Harper is adding 11.5 points per game and before her season-ending injury Janaee Thompson was scoring 10.1 points per game. Harper is leading the rebounding efforts with 7.0 rebounds per game. Kentucky is averaging 76.6 points per game whole holding opponents to 69.9 points per game. Epps has stepped her game up during SEC play after moving in the point guard spot and is averaging 17.1 points against SEC foes.
About Ole Miss
Senior forward Tia Faleru continues to lead Ole Miss with 14.8 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game. Faleru has scored in double figures in 21 of Ole Miss' 26 games and has grabbed eight or more rebounds in 22 of Ole Miss' 26 games. She also has 11 double-doubles on the season which leads the SEC. Faleru, who is in the only player in the SEC averaging a double-double, is the lone player in double figures, but Erika Sisk is nearing double figures with 8.7 points per game, while Ole Miss has six players averaging 6.0 points or better. Danielle McCray and A'Queen Hayes are helping Faleru shoulder the rebounding load averaging 4.7 and 4.3 rebounds per game, respectively. In SEC action, Faleru leads the way averaging 13.2 points, while Erika Sisk is averaging 8.5 points. A'Queen Hayes is also netting 8.0 points per game against SEC foes. As a team, Ole Miss is averaging 65.5 points per game while holding opponents to 63.0 points per game.
On Deck
Ole Miss will close out the regular season home schedule on Thursday against LSU. The Rebels will honor seniors Tia Faleru, Danielle McCray and Amber Singletary in pregame festivities. Tipoff is set for 6 pm on the SEC Network+ with Armintie Herrington and Will Kollmeyer on the call.
From The Coach
