The Lady Govs basketball team closed out the non-conference part of their schedule with a 99-69 loss to Southeastern Conference opponent Ole Miss on Monday, Dec. 30 in Oxford, Mississippi. Like a lot of previous games in this non-conference schedule the Lady Govs were unable to put two solid halves of basketball together and now limb into conference play on a seven-game losing streak.
The Lady Govs, who are now 3-10 on the season, did have some bright spots against the upcoming Ole Miss Lady Rebels who lost their previous game to national powerhouse Baylor 87-80 and were winners of seven out of their last eight.
Early in the first half the Lady Govs came out and took an early lead in the game that would not be surrendered until late in the first half. The Lady Govs converted on 40.5% of their shot attempts in the first half but were unable to weather a run late in the first that gave Ole Miss a 50-40 lead at the half. Unable to carry any momentum over from the first half the Lady Rebels came out and controlled almost the entirety of the second half and secured their final win in the non-conference schedule.
Tiasha Gray led the Lady Govs with 18 points to go along with six assists and five rebounds. The Lady Govs also had three other players in double digit scoring with freshman Tearra Banks with 14, junior Kristen Stainback with 15 and sophomore Jennifer Nwokocha with 14 points off the bench. Nwokocha also had 10 rebounds to go along with her scoring output which gave her a double-double in the game, her first this year.
The Lady Govs now prepare to open Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday, January 4 against Southeast Missouri in the Dunn Center. Entering conference play the Lady Govs have the longest current losing streak in the OVC this season with seven loses. They are also allowing more points per game (77.9) than any other team in the conference and their 3-10 non-conference record puts them at the bottom of the OVC west division with the lowest winning percentage at .231.
The Lady Govs have their first two conference games at home (Jan 4 vs Southeast Missouri and Jan 6 vs UT Martin) before hitting the road for four straight road games starting with arch rival Murray State on Saturday, January 4th.
