The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Welcomes Georgia Tech For WNIT Action
3/20/2015 | Women's Basketball
Ole Game Notes- vs. Georgia Tech (WNIT Second Round) - Game 32
Ole Miss continues action in the 2015 Postseason WNIT on Sunday, when it squares off with Georgia Tech out of the Atlantic Coast Conference at the Tad Pad. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on SEC Network+
Game 32: Ole Miss (18-13) vs. Georgia Tech (19-14)
Date: March 22, 2015
Location: Oxford, Miss. (Tad Smith Coliseum)
Series: First Meeting
Streak: First Meeting
| TV: SECN+| Game Notes (PDF)
Starting Five
1. Ole Miss picked up its first postseason win since 2008-09 with a 80-70 win over UT Martin in the first round of the 2015 Postseason WNIT. The Rebels, who hosted the Skyhawks, moved to 2-0 in postseason wins at Tad Smith Coliseum and won its third straight game at the Tad Pad.
2. The Rebels moved to 3-5 in WNIT games with the win and to 21-22 all-time in postseason games, which includes a 17-18 record in the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss moved to 18-13 on the season with the win and is now just two wins away form the first 20-win season since 2006-07.
3. Freshman Kelsey Briggs had a career-night against UT Martin. The Memphis native had a career-best 19 points and tied her career high with six rebounds. It was her third career double-figure game and the first since she recorded 12 points against Southeast Missouri back in November.
4. Head coach Matt Insell picked up his 30th career win with the win over UT Martin. In just his second year he has led Ole Miss to 18 wins, posting a six-game turnaround from last year. When Insell was hired Ole Miss was coming off a 9-20 season and in two years he's lead Ole Miss to 18 wins and the postseason.
5. Tia Faleru continues to earn postseason accolades. The 29th best player available for the 2015 WNBA Draft, Faleru was a All-SEC first team selection by the coaches and AP and was the only unanimous first team selection by the AP. She also earned College Sports Madness All-American fourth team honors.
Ole Miss vs. Georgia Tech Notables
-Sunday's meeting will be the first ever meeting between Ole Miss and Georgia Tech on the hardwood. The teams did square off on the gridiron in the 2013 Music City Bowl with the Ole Miss football team taking a 24-17 win over the Yellow Jackets.
-Both the Rebels and Yellow Jackets have some NBA ties on their roster. Ole Miss' Kiara Golden is the cousin of Anfrenee "Penny" Hardaway ,while Georgia Tech's Kaela Davis is the daughter of former NBA player Antonio Davis.
-Georgia Tech doesn't' have any Mississippi natives, but Aaliyah Whiteside hails from nearby Memphis. Ole Miss has a Georgia native in Precious Person who is from Riverdale, Ga.
-Ole Miss is 13-14 all-time against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and last played a team from the ACC in the 2011-12 when they took on Miami (Fla.).
WNIT Notables
-Ole Miss is making its eighth appearance in the WNIT Tournament and owns a 3-5 record all-time in the WNIT. Ole Miss has advanced as far as the third round in 2008-09.
-The Rebels are 2-0 in WNIT home games and hosted a WNIT postseason game for the first time since 2008-09 when they hosted Murray State in a second round game. Prior to the Georgia Tech game, Ole Miss has never hosted more than one game In the WNIT.
-In the opening round game against UT Martin, Ole Miss set a WNIT record for assists with 20 against the Skyhawks. The previous Ole Miss record for assists in the WNIT was 19 against Murray State in 2008-09.
-The Rebels scored 80 points against UT Martin, which is the third highest point total for the Rebels in the WNIT. Ole Miss has only reached 80 points on three occasions in eight WNIT games.
A Win Would...
-Move Ole Miss to 19-13 overall and be the second postseason win for Ole Miss for Ole Miss this season and the most wins for the Rebels in a single WNIT appearance. Ole Miss last won more than one game in a postseason appearance in 2006-07 when they reached the NCAA Elite Eight behind three wins. It would also give Ole Miss a 14-14 record against ACC foes.
Rebels By The Numbers
2-Number of WNIT home games Ole Miss has hosted and won in its eight WNIT appearances. Ole Miss is 3-5 all-time in WNIT games.
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.
19-Number of points freshman Kelsey Briggs had against UT Martin in Ole Miss' WNIT first round win. It was her third career game in double figures and the first since she had 12 against Utah back in November.
80-Number of points, Ole Miss scored against UT Martin. The 80 points were the third highest point total for Ole Miss in the WNIT.
103-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).
164-Number of three-point field goals Gracie Frizzell has drilled in her career. She ranks No. 4 all-time at Ole Miss and has the most triples since Bianca Thomas (2006-10) tallied 226 in her career.
Scouting Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech enters Sunday's game with a 19-14 record after defeating Elon, 69-47, in their first round WNIT game on Thursday. The Yellow Jackets are winners of five of their last six games and are led by four players in double figures. Kaela Davis leads the offense with 19.5 points per game, while Aaliyah Whiteside and Sydney Wallace are averaging 13.3 and 13.1 points per game, respectively. Zaire O'Neil is contributing 11.3 points per game. Roddreka Rodgers leads the rebounding efforts with 9.5 rebounds per game and the Yellow Jackets have four players averaging at least five rebounds. The teams have two common opponents in Georgia and Grambling. Georgia Tech split with a loss to Georgia and a win over Grambling while Ole Miss posted wins over both opponents. Georgia Tech is averaging 72.5 points per game, while pulling down 42.3 rebounds per game.
About Ole Miss
Senior forward Tia Faleru continues to lead Ole Miss with 14.6 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game. Faleru has scored in double figures in 27 of Ole Miss' 31 games and has grabbed eight or more rebounds in 25 of Ole Miss' 31 games, although she hasn't reach the double-digit mark since grabbing 10 boards in the regular-season finale at Mississippi State. She also has 13 double-doubles on the season which leads the SEC. Faleru, was the only player in the SEC to average a double-double, is the lone player in double figures, but Erika Sisk is nearing double figures with 9.1 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 5.0 and 4.3 rebounds per game, respectively As a team, Ole Miss is averaging 65.0 points per game while holding opponents to 62.9 points per game.
On Deck
Should Ole Miss advance to the third round, they will take on the winner of Middle Tennessee and Arkansas State, possibly setting up a rematch of Insell vs. Insell.
From The Coach
