Nov. 28, 2011

Game Notes

Ole Miss (4-1) vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-4)
Date: November 29, 2011
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: Tad Smith Coliseum

Radio: 105.5 FM (Graham Doty)
Gametracker: OleMissSports.com
Live Streaming: OleMissSports.com
Live Blog: OleMissSports.com
Series: Ole Miss leads, 5-0

QUICK HITS
- After two wins on the road, Ole Miss returns home to host Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
- The Rebels improved to 4-1 on the year with a 72-67 win on the road over UMass on Saturday afternoon.     
- Ole Miss leads the all-time series with UAPB, 5-0, including a 98-56 win over the Golden Lions on November 20, 2009.
- Senior Nikki Byrd (14.6 ppg) and sophomore Valencia McFarland (13.2 ppg) lead Ole Miss in scoring.
- Byrd recorded her eighth career double-double at UMass with a career-high 26 points and 17 rebounds.  It was her third consecutive double-double. 
- Byrd (12.0 rpg) and freshman Danielle McCray (5.0 rpg) lead the team in rebounding.
- Sophomore Valencia McFarland earned two preseason honors being named to the All-SEC Second Team by the league’s media and the league’s coaches.
- Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm. She has a career record of 62-66 overall and 21-39 in SEC play.

OLE MISS HOSTS ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
The Rebels will return home after two games on the road to host Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday at 7 p.m.  Ole Miss (4-1 overall) is 2-0 at home this season.    
 
ABOUT OLE MISS
Ole Miss is 4-1 this season after beating UMass Saturday afternoon on the road.  The Rebels are led by Nikki Byrd (14.6 ppg, 12.0 rpg) and Valencia McFarland (13.2 ppg, 22 assists).  Freshman Danielle McCray is second on the team in rebounding averaging 5.0 rebounds per game. Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm. 

OLE MISS VS. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
Ole Miss leads the all-time series, 5-0.  The Rebels won the last meeting, 98-56, at home on November 20, 2009.  

A LOOK AT ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
The Golden Lions are 0-4 this season, most recently falling at LSU, on November 21.  Arkansas-Pine Bluff is led by Lakendra Marsh (10.3 ppg) and Jenise Gentry (8.3 ppg).  Carlisha Walker leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.0 rebounds per game.  As a team, the Golden Lions average 43.5 ppg while its opponents average 87.5.  

A WIN TUESDAY WOULD .....
- Give Ole Miss a 5-1 start to the year which would be the third-best start under Ladner.  The 2008-09 team started 7-0 while the 2009-10 team started 6-1.

- Push the Rebels’ winning streak to four games, the longest since the 2009-10 season when Ole Miss won five straight from January 6 - January 24.

- Keep Ole Miss undefeated at home this season with a 3-0 mark.   
 
A LOSS TUESDAY WOULD .....
- Snap Ole Miss’ three game-winning streak. 

- Hand Ole Miss its 10th loss at home dating back
to the start of the 2010-11 season.

NEWS AND NOTES
Ole Miss had a team-high four players score in double-figures in the win at UMass (Nikki Byrd, Valencia McFarland, Amber Singletary and Whitney Hameth) ... Nikki Byrd has scored a team-high 26 points this season while also recording a team-high 16 rebounds ... All of Ole Miss’ games this season have been decided by nine points or less ... Freshman Amber Singletary recorded a career-high 11 points in a win at UMass ... Valencia McFarland, Nikki Byrd and LaTosha Laws have started each game for Ole Miss ... Nikki Byrd has averaged a double-double for three consecutive weeks ... Valencia McFarland’s six steals at SEMO are the most by an Ole Miss player since Courtney Marbra recorded five against Sam Houston State in November of 2010 ... Ole Miss held South Alabama without a player scoring in double figures marking the first time since November 19, 2006 that the Rebels did not allow a player on an opposing team to score in double figures.

BYRD RECORDS EIGHTH CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior Nikki Byrd recorded her eighth career double-double in a win at UMass with 26 points and 17 rebounds.  It is her third double-double of the season and she is the first Ole Miss player to record a double-double this season. Byrd is the first player to record three consecutive double-doubles since Armintie Price in 2007.
Byrd, along with junior Courtney Marbra and sophomore Pa’Sonna Hope, are the three active players with double-doubles.

Active Players With Double-Doubles
                              Season Career
Nikki Byrd                3          8
Courtney Marbra       0          2
Pa’Sonna Hope        0          2

CLOSE WINS, CLOSE LOSSES
This season, Ole Miss’ first five games have all been decided by nine points or less.  Ole Miss has posted two wins by nine points (North Florida, South Alabama) and one loss (at Lamar).  The Rebels have also posted one win by eight points (at SEMO) and one win by five points (at UMass).  Over the last two seasons, Ole Miss has recorded a combined 23 games that were decided by nine points or less. 

Last season, eight of Ole Miss’ first 12 games were decided by nine points while the team finished the year with 16 games decided by nine points or less going 8-8 in those games.  In 2010-11, the Rebels went 6-4 in games decided by five points or less. In those games with their narrowest margin of defeat coming versus Arizona (72-70) and their narrowest margin of victory coming versus Gonzaga (53-52).  Ole Miss also recorded a two-point win (61-59) at Florida and a three point loss versus Arkansas (56-53).

REBELS COME BACK FROM DOUBLE-DIGIT DEFICITS
In two games this season, Ole Miss has come back from double-digit deficits to win.  Ole Miss trailed by 12 to North Florida but came back to win, 68-59, while the Rebels trailed by 13 at UMass before coming back to win, 72-67.

Over the last two seasons, Ole Miss has come back from double-digit deficits six times to win, including four times during the 2010-11 season.

BYRD NEARING 100 CAREER GAMES PLAYED
Senior Nikki Byrd has played in 96 career games.   She has played in at least 29 games over each of her first three years at Ole Miss and is the team’s active leader in career games played.  Byrd has started all games this season.

HOLDING OPPONENTS UNDER 50 POINTS
In the team’s five games this season, Ole Miss has held two of its opponents under 50 points.  The Rebels beat South Alabama 54-45 and beat SEMO, 51-43.  This marks the first time since the 2008-09 season that Ole Miss held opponents to fewer than 50 points at least two times during the season. The 2008-09 team held opponents to fewer than 50 points six times.

REBELS IN NOVEMBER
Ole Miss has four wins this season in the month of November.  If Ole Miss wins its final game this month versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff, it will mark the fourth time in the past six years that Ole Miss finished the month of November with five wins.