Dec. 27, 2011

Ole Miss Game Notes

Ole Miss (9-3) vs. SELA (4-7)
Date: December 29
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: Tad Smith Coliseum

Radio: 105.5 FM (Graham Doty)
Gametracker:  OleMissSports.com
Streaming Video: OleMissSports.com
Series vs. SELA: Ole Miss leads, 13-0

- Ole Miss improved to 9-3 this season after winning the Magnolia Cup with wins over Murray State and Cleveland State. 
- Sophomore Valencia McFarland (14.6 ppg) and senior Nikki Byrd (14.3 ppg) lead Ole Miss in scoring.
- Byrd recorded her 13th career double-double (and eighth of her career) against Murray State with 14 points and 11 rebounds.  Byrd recorded five consecutive double-doubles from Nov. 18 to Dec. 12.
- McFarland recorded her first career double-double against Cleveland State with 14 points and 10 assists.
- Byrd (10.9 rpg) and sophomore Pa'Sonna Hope (4.6 rpg) lead the team in rebounding.
- Byrd is fifth in the nation in rebounding in the NCAA stats released on December 19 and is currently ranked first in the SEC.
- Ole Miss has come back from double-digit deficits to win three times this year.
- Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm. She has a career record of 67-68 overall and 21-39 in SEC play.

EBELS HOST SELA DECEMBER 29
Ole Miss will continue its five-game home stand on December 29 when the team hosts SELA at 7 p.m.  The game will mark Ole Miss' final non-conference game of the year.  The Rebels (9-3 overall) are 6-1 at home this season and 3-2 on the road.    
 
ABOUT OLE MISS
Ole Miss is 9-3 this season after beating Murray State and Cleveland State to win its own Magnolia Cup.  The Rebels are led by Nikki Byrd (14.3 ppg, 10.9 rpg) and Valencia McFarland (14.6 ppg, 62 assists).  Sophomore Pa'Sonna Hope is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 4.6 rebounds per game. Head coach Renee Ladner is in her fifth season at the helm. 

OLE MISS VS. SELA
Ole Miss leads the all-time series, 13-0.  The Rebels won the last meeting between the two schools, 85-51, in Oxford in December 2010. 
 
A LOOK AT SELA
The Lions are 4-7 this season and lost to Florida A&M 85-63 on December 17.  SELA is led by Aja Gibson who averages 12.6 points per game and Kelli Jenkins who averages 9.5 points per game.   Brandi Simmons leads the team in rebounding averaging 8.5 rebounds per game. As a team, the Lions average 62.7 points per game while their opponents average 65.5.  SELA has not won a road game this season and are 0-4 on the road.

NEWS AND NOTES
Ole Miss shot a season-best 57.1 percent from the floor (32-56) in a win over Cleveland State ...  No team this season has shot over 50 percent from the floor against Ole Miss ... The Rebels scored a season-high 41 points in the second half at Lipscomb while holding the Bisons to 18 points in the second half ... Nikki Byrd has doubled her rebound and scoring averages from last season and is averaging a career-high 14.3 ppg and a career-high 10.9 prg ... 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 ... Kenyotta Jenkins recorded a season-high nine points in a win over Cleveland State her season ... At No. 9 Miami, Ole Miss scored a season-low 48 ... Ole Miss allowed a season-high 78 points in an overtime loss to Central Michigan ... Nikki Byrd has scored in double figures in all 12 games this year ... From Nov. 18 to Dec. 3, Ole Miss has held four if its five opponents to 53 points or under ... All 13 players who saw minutes against UAPB recorded at least one point ... Nikki Byrd has scored a team-high 26 points this season while also recording a team-high 17 rebounds ... Six of Ole Miss' games this season have been decided by nine points or less ... Valencia McFarland and Nikki Byrd have started each game for Ole Miss ... Nikki Byrd has averaged a double-double for nine consecutive weeks ... 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 13TH CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior Nikki Byrd recorded her 13th career double-double in a win versus Murray State with 14 points and 11 rebounds.  It is her eighth double-double of the season and she is the only From Nov. 18 to Dec. 3, Byrd recorded five consecutive double-doubles to become the first player to record five consecutive double-doubles since Armintie Price in 2007.

Byrd, along with junior Courtney Marbra and sophomores Pa'Sonna Hope and Valencia McFarland, are the four active players with double-doubles.

Active Players With Double-Doubles
                                Season  Career
Nikki Byrd                  8           13
Valencia McFarland     1            1
Courtney Marbra        0             2
Pa'Sonna Hope         0             2

MCFARLAND RECORDS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Sophomore Valencia McFarland recorded her  first career double-double with 14 points and 10 assists in a win over Cleveland State.  The 10 assists ties McFarland's career high.

SINGLETARY RECORDS CAREER HIGH IN WIN
Freshman Amber Singletray recorded a career-best 15 points in her first career start in a win over Murray State.  She also recorded career bests in field goals (six) and three pointers (3).

MCCRAY CONSISTENT FOR REBELS
Freshman Danielle McCray has played in all of the team's games this season and has made six starts.  She recorded a career-high 12 points in a win over Cleveland State.   For the year, she is averaging 5.8 points per game and is third in rebounding averaging 4.1 boards per game.  McCray has recorded at least five points in seven games this year and at least five rebounds in six games.   

MCFARLAND RECORDS SEVENTH CAREER 20-POINT GAME
Sophomore Valencia McFarland recorded her seventh career 20-point game with 23 points against Lipscomb.  She tied her career high with 24 points against Central Michigan this season  she also scored 24 points in a win versus Illinois last season.  McFarland recorded four 20-point games last season.

BYRD IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Senior Nikki Byrd has scored in double figures in 13 consecutive games dating back to last season.  She has scored in double figures in all 12 games this season and has the longest active streak of scoring in double figures on this season's roster.

REBELS IN DOUBLE FIGURES
For the season, Ole Miss players have recorded a total of 24 double-digit scoring games.  Nikki Byrd leads the team with 11 double-digit scoring games while Valencia McFarland has recorded eight.  Maggie McFerrin and Amber Singletary  have each recorded two while Whitney Hameth has recorded one.

BYRD RANKED 5TH IN THE NATION IN REBOUNDING
In the latest NCAA stats released December 19,  senior forward Nikki Byrd is fifth in the nation in rebounding, averaging 11.4 rebounds per game.  The NCAA stats will be released again on Monday, December 26.  Byrd is also ranked 28th in the nation in field goal percentage (55.7%) and fourth in double-doubles (seven). Byrd has been ranked no lower than 12th in the nation in rebounding every week this season the national stats have been released.