Feb. 21, 2012

Ole Miss Game Notes

Ole Miss (12-15, 2-12 SEC) at No. 13 Georgia (20-7, 9-5 SEC)
Date: February 23, 2012
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Athens, Ga.
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum
Radio: Q93.7 (Graham Doty)
Online: Gametracker
Series vs. Georgia: UGA leads, 28-11

QUICK HITS
- Ole Miss fell to 12-15 overall (2-12 SEC) this season after falling at home to No. 10 Tennessee, 65-55, Sunday afternoon.  
- The Rebels will play its final two conference games on the road.
- Sophomore Valencia McFarland led all scorers against Tennessee, recording 21 points.  She has recorded five 20-point games this season and nine during her career at Ole Miss.   
- Freshmen Danielle McCray and Tia Faleru each recorded career highs in rebounding at MSU, each recording 12 rebounds.  Fellow freshman Mo Jackson also recorded a career-high in rebounding, grabbing eight boards.
- Valencia McFarland (13.6 ppg) and senior Nikki Byrd (11.9 ppg) lead Ole Miss in scoring.
- Byrd (8.8 rpg) and McCray (4.4 rpg) lead the team in rebounding.
- The four freshmen that saw time against Alabama combined for 27 of the team’s 47 points and 22 of the team’s 40 rebounds.
- Ole Miss has scored 50 points or fewer in seven SEC games this season.   
- Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm. She has a career record of 70-80 overall and 23-51 in SEC play.

REBELS TRAVEL TO GEORGIA THURSDAY NIGHT
Ole Miss will play its final two SEC games of the season on the road starting with a game at No. 13 Georgia Thursday night for a 6 p.m. CT.  Ole Miss (12-15 overall, 2-12 SEC) is 8-8 at home this season and 4-7 on the road.  With two regular-season games remaining, the Rebels have won more games this season (12) than they did all of 2010-11 (10).

ABOUT OLE MISS
Ole Miss is 12-15 overall this season and 2-12 in SEC play after falling at home to No. 10 Tennessee, 65-56, Sunday afternoon.  The Rebels are led by Valencia McFarland (13.6 ppg, 4.9 apg) and Nikki Byrd (11.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg).  Freshman Danielle McCray is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 4.4 rebounds per game. Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm.  

OLE MISS VS. GEORGIA
Georgia leads the all-time series between the  two schools, 28-11.  The Lady Bulldogs won the last meeting between the two schools earlier this season, 61-47, in Oxford on January 22, 2012.  Georgia is 14-1 all-time against Ole Miss in games played in Athens.  The Rebels’ last win over the Lady Bulldogs was a 66-65 win in Athens on January 24, 2010.     
 
A LOOK AT GEORGIA
Georgia is 20-7 overall and 9-5 in SEC play.  The Lady Bulldogs fell on the road to Florida Sunday, 61-57.  Georgia is led by Jasmine Hassell (13.1 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game) and Khaalidah Miller (12.1 points per game, 4.3 rebounds per game).  Anne Marie Armstrong leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.2 rebounds per game.  As a team, the Lady Bulldogs average 68.4 points per game while holding its opponents to 57.9 points per game.                      

NEWS AND NOTES
Freshman Tia Faleru played a career-high 45 minutes in Ole Miss’ overtime loss to Mississippi State ... At No. 6 Kentucky, Ole Miss was held without a player scoring in double figures for the first time since March of 2008 ... The Rebels turned the ball over a season-high 36 times against the Wildcats then responded one game later with its lowest amount of turnovers in six games (13) at Florida ... Ten times this season, Ole Miss has held its opponent to under 68 points but lost the game (at Lamar, Florida, at Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Georgia, at South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, at Mississippi State, vs. Tennessee) ... Eleven of Ole Miss’ game this season have been decided by nine points or less ... The Rebels won back-to-back SEC games for the first time since January of 2010 when the team won five straight conference games ... Ole Miss’ 14-point margin of victory at Alabama marked the Rebels’ biggest margin of victory over an SEC opponent since January 21, 2010 when Ole Miss beat Mississippi State, 66-58 ... One opposing team this season has shot over 50 percent from the floor against Ole Miss (LSU, 55.2%) ... Ole Miss shot a season-best 57.1 percent from the floor (32-56) in a win over Cleveland State ... Ole Miss’ game against Central Michigan marked the first time this season the Rebels led at the half but lost the game ... Prior to the Central Michigan game this year where Ole Miss allowed 61 boards, the Rebels hadn’t allowed 60+ rebounds since 2003.

CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Senior forward Nikki Byrd is on pace to score nearly over 830 career points and grab nearly 650 career rebounds.  To date, she has recorded 804 career points (297 this year) and 632 career rebounds (220 this year).  Byrd is averaging 11.9 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game this season.
Sophomore point guard Valencia McFarland is on pace to end her sophomore year with a total of nearly 760 career points and close to 280 career assists.  McFarland has recorded 737 career points (366 this year) and 254 career assists (131 this year).  This season, she is averaging 13.6 points per game and 4.9 assists per game.

MCFARLAND RECORDS NINTH CAREER 20-POINT GAME
Sophomore Valencia McFarland recorded her ninth career 20-point game with 21 points to lead all scorers against No. 10 Tennessee on February 19.  Earlier this season she scored a career-high 25 points in a win at Alabama, 24 points against Central Michigan, added 23 in a win over Lipscomb and scored 20 in a win over Grambling State.  McFarland recorded four 20-point games last season.

REBELS TIE SEASON HIGH IN THREES
Ole Miss matched it season high with eight threes in its game against Tennessee on February 19.  The Rebels also recorded eight threes against North Florida on November 11, 2011.  While the team is shooting just 27.0 percent from three-point range for the season, the Rebels exploded from three-point range in its two SEC wins over Arkansas and Alabama.  Ole Miss shot just under 60 percent from three point range in its last two games going 13-22.  Valencia McFarland has made six threes in the two SEC wins while Whitney Hameth has made five.

REBELS GET ON THE GLASS AT STATE
In Ole Miss’ 53-50 overtime loss to Mississippi State on February 12, the Rebels grabbed 62 rebounds.  The 62 boards were the most by an Ole Miss team since November 17, 2006 when the Rebels grabbed 62 in a game at Rice.  Two players, Tia Faleru and Danielle McCray each recorded 12 rebounds against State.

MCCRAY, FALERU RECORD CAREER HIGHS IN REBOUNDING
Freshmen Danielle McCray and Tia Faleru each recorded a career-high 12 rebounds in the Rebels’ loss at Mississippi State on February 12. McCray’s previous career high was eight while Faleru’s previous career high was 10.

UNDERCLASSMEN GET THE START
Ole Miss’ starting five against Mississippi State consisted of all underclassmen, one sophomore and four freshmen.  Prior to the MSU game, the last time Ole Miss used a starting lineup with at least four underclassmen was against No. 6 Tennessee in Oxford on February 24, 2011 when the team started one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen.

MCFARLAND SETS A CAREER HIGH FOR ASSISTS IN A SEASON
Sophomore Valencia McFarland, who has led or been tied for the team lead in assists in 25 games this season, has 131 assists in 27 games for an average of 4.9 assists per game.  She recorded three assists against Alabama to give herself a career-high for assists in a season.  As a freshman last year, she finished the season with 123 assists.  She has recorded at least five assists in 23 career games for Ole Miss. This season she has recorded double-digit assists in two games with 10 against Cleveland State and a career-high 11 in a win over SELA.

REBELS IN THE SECOND HALF
In Ole Miss’ SEC games against Georgia, South Carolina and versus Alabama, the Rebels were outscored by an average of 21 points per game in the first half but outscored their opponents by an average of 8.6 points in the second half.  For the season, Ole Miss has been outscored 803-733 in the first half but have outscored its opponents 781-774 in the second half.