The Samford women's basketball team will play host to the Ole Miss Rebels Thursday evening (March 18) in the first round of the 2010 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), the WNIT announced March 15. Game between Samford and Ole Miss is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at Samford's Pete Hanna Center.
Ticket prices for the game are $5 for adults and $4 for children and Samford students, faculty and staff. To purchase tickets, call the Samford athletics department at 205-726-2966, or visit the Samford athletics ticket website at the following link: Samford Ticket Website
The tournament marks the first-ever national postseason tournament berth for the Samford women's basketball program, which is in its 13th season.
Samford enters the tournament with a record of 22-10. The Bulldogs fell in the championship game of the Southern Conference Tournament, 72-67, to Chattanooga on March 8.
Ole Miss is currently 17-14 on the season. The Rebels fell to Tennessee, 76-51, in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
The game will mark the first-ever meeting between Samford and Ole Miss in women's basketball.
For the season, Samford is led in scoring by junior guard Emily London, averaging 15.0 points per game. London ranks fifth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, making 47.0 percent of her attempts. London also ranks third in the nation in free throw percentage, making 90.5 percent of her attempts from the line.
Junior forward Savannah Hill leads the team in rebounding (5.4 rpg.) and assists (3.5 apg.). Hill also ranks second on the team in scoring with an average of 13.4 points per game. Senior guard Monica Maxwell ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.3 points per game. Maxwell is also second on the team in rebounding with an average of 4.5 rebounds per game.
Ole Miss is led by Bianca Thomas, averaging 20.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Kayla Melson is averaging 12.3 points per game for the Rebels.
In the SoCon Tournament, Samford claimed wins over Elon (57-38) and Appalachian State (66-53) to reach the championship game. Samford's London, Maxwell and Hill were named to the All- Tournament team for the SoCon Tournament after the championship game. In three games in the SoCon Tournament, Hill averaged 14.0 points, 5.3 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game. London averaged 14.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in the tournament. Maxwell averaged 13.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in Samford's three games in the tournament.
Thursday night's game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Fans can also follow the game on the Samford website via GameTracker.