The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Starts WNIT Against UT Martin
3/17/2015 | Women's Basketball
Ole Game Notes- vs. UT Martin (WNIT First Round) - Game 31
Ole Miss is back in the postseason for the first time since 2009-10 when they host UT Martin in the WNIT first round on Wednesday at Tad Smith Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will air on SEC Network+ with Will Kollmeyer and Armintie Herrington on the call.
Game 31: Ole Miss (17-13) vs. UT Martin (22-10)
Date: March 18, 2015
Location: Oxford, Miss. (Tad Smith Coliseum)
Series: UT Martin leads, 1-0
Streak: UT Martin won the last meeting
| TV: SECN+| Game Notes(PDF)| WNIT Notes
Starting Five
1. Ole Miss is back in the postseason and will host UT Martin in the first round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) on Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. This will be the second ever WNIT game Ole Miss has ever hosted. The Rebels are 1-0 in WNIT games in Oxford.
2. Ole Miss is 2-5 in WNIT games and last played in the WNIT during the 2009-10 season when they traveled to Samford. Ole Miss last hosted a WNIT game in 2008-09 when they defeated Murray State, 87-49 .The Rebels are 1-0 in WNIT games played in Oxford.
3. Ole Miss and UT Martin are meting for just the second time in program history with the lone prior meeting coming in the 1999 postseason WNIT. UT Martin defeated Ole Miss 77-66 in the first round of the WNIT, which was Ole Miss' first appearance in the WNIT in program history.
4. In just his second year, Ole Miss head coach Matt Insell has led the Rebels to the postseason. Ole Miss posted a five-game turnaround in 2014-15 and finished tied for seventh in the SEC standings. Insell joins Lin Dunn, Van Chancellor Ron Aldy, Carol Ross and Renee Ladner as coaches to lead their teams to the postseason in the first two years.
5. For the second consecutive season, Faleru was selected as a finalist for the 2015 C Spire Gillom Trophy. The award, named after Ole Miss great Peggie Gillom-Granderson, is awarded to the top female collegiate player in Mississippi.
Ole Miss vs. UT Martin Notables
-Wednesday's meeting will be the second meeting in program history between the Rebels and Skyhawks and the second meeting that will take place in the postseason WNIT. UT Martin leads the all-time series, 1-0 after a 77-66 win.
-There are quite a few connections between Ole Miss and UT Martin. In the last meeting between the teams current Ole Miss videographer Sean Stephenson and Director of Operations, Eric White, were actually on the UT Martin bench as members of the Skyhawks staff. Additionally, current UT Martin senior Mo Jackson played three years at Ole Miss before transferring to UT Martin for her senior year and UT Martin alum Lin Dunn was he head coach at Ole Miss in 1977-78.
-Ole Miss is 36-5 all-time against teams from the Ohio Valley. UT Martin will be the second OVC team Ole Miss has faced this season after a 58-57 win over Southeast Missouri. Ole Miss went 3-0 against teams from the OVC last season.
WNIT Notables
-Ole Miss is making its eighth appearance in the WNIT Tournament and owns a 2-5 record all-time in the WNIT. Ole Miss has advanced as far as the third round in 2008-09.
-The Rebels are looking to go 2-0 in WNIT home games and will be hosting a WNIT postseason game for the first time since 2008-09 when they hosted Murray State in a second round game.
A Win Would...
-Move Ole Miss to 18-13 overall and be the first postseason win for Ole Miss since 2008-09 when they defeated Murray State in the WNIT. It would also move Ole Miss to 2-0 in WNIT games played in Oxford.
Rebels By The Numbers
1-Number of WNIT home games Ole Miss has hosted and won in its seven WNIT appearances. Ole Miss is looking for its second home win against UT Martin on Wednesday night.
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 tied for the most in the SEC this season.
13-Number of double-doubles Tia Faleru has this season. For the second consecutive season she has posted 10+ double-doubles. For her career she has 33 double-doubles which ranks fifth all-time at Ole Miss, making her one of just five players with 30+ career double-doubles.
102-Number of consecutive games in which Tia Faleru has grabbed a rebound. Faleru, who led the SEC rebounding, is averaging 10.3 rebounds per game, was the only SEC player averaging double-figure rebounds and the only player currently averaging a double-double (14.7 ppg and 10.3 rpg).
162-Number of three-point field goals Gracie Frizzell has drilled in her career. She moves into the top five all-time at Ole Miss and has the most triples since Bianca Thomas (2006-10) tallied 226 in her career.
Scouting UT Martin
UT Martin enters Wednesday's game with a 22-10 record after going undefeated in the Ohio Valley in the regular season. The Skyhawks got upset by Tennessee State, 64-60, in the OVC tournament finals, but earned the OVC's automatic berth into the WNIT. Ashia Jones leads the Skyhwaks with 23.6 points per game and is joined in double figures by Jessy Ward, who averages 11.0 points per game. Tiara Caldwell leads the rebounding efforts with 7.5 rebounds per game. The teams have several opponents in common in Alabama and Mizzou. UT Martin lost to both of the SEC foes while Ole Miss defeated Alabama and lost to Missouri. UT Martin is averaging 72.7 points per game and 37.4 rebounds per game.
About Ole Miss
Senior forward Tia Faleru continues to lead Ole Miss with 14.7 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game. Faleru has scored in double figures in 26 of Ole Miss' 30 games and has grabbed eight or more rebounds in 25 of Ole Miss' 30 games. She also has 13 double-doubles on the season which leads the SEC. Faleru, was 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 8.9 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 5.2 and 4.2 rebounds per game, respectively As a team, Ole Miss is averaging 64.5 points per game while holding opponents to 62.7 points per game.
On Deck
Should Ole Miss advance to the second round, they will take on the winner of Georgia Tech vs. Elon. Those teams will square off on Thursday in a first round game in Atlanta.
From The Coach
