The Lady Rebels (12-13 overall, 2-10 SEC) were led in scoring by Valencia McFarland (12) and Amber Singletary (10).

Jessica Merritt‘s 10 points were a team-high for Alabama (11-14, 1-10).

Next up for Ole Miss is a road trip to rival Mississippi State on Sunday. The game is set for 2:30 p.m. and will be televised on FSN. (February 9, 2012)

The Rebels (14-8 overall, 4-4 in the Southeastern Conference) let an opportunity to earn a road win at Alabama on Saturday slip through their fingers. Not only did the loss put them behind Alabama in the standings, it dropped their RPI rating down to the mid 50s, a figure that has to be improved if they have a realistic chance of earning a bid as an at-large team in the “Big Dance.” (February 9, 2012, Page 8)

Prior to leaving Buchholz High in Gainesville, Fla., Allen was a well-known catching prospect that not only excelled in various tournament circuits, but also caught for the Under-16 Team USA squad in 2008.

As a freshman, Allen hit .227 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in 36 games, but was relegated to mostly first base and designated hitter with senior Miles Hamblin and junior Taylor Hightower handling the bulk of the work behind the plate.

Entering the 2012 season, Allen appears to have taken hold of the starting duties ahead of Hightower, junior college transfer Kody Sepulveda and freshman Austin Knight.

Allen’s offensive ability has never been questioned; he carried a slugger’s reputation out of high school after he hit .465 with 28 home runs and 103 RBIs while lettering four years at Buchholz.

Since arriving in Oxford, it’s been Allen’s defense that has been the focal point of his efforts in practice.

And, interestingly enough, it’s Allen’s dependability behind the plate now that has catapulted him into the starter’s role. (February 9, 2012, Page 8)

After drawing interest from several other elite programs, 6-foot-1, 170-pound right-handed pitcher Ryan Leone (Calvary Baptist Academy; Shreveport, La.) called Rebel recruiting coordinator Carl Lafferty on Monday and verbally committed.

“I wanted to play in the SEC somewhere where my family could come and watch me and Ole Miss’ coaches, Coach Lafferty and Coach Bianco, were great,” Leone said Wednesday. “The facilities and campus, I just loved everything about it.”

Leone said he selected the Rebels over finalist Alabama, while Oregon, LSU, Texas A&M and Southern Miss all showed interest.

Arkansas also  showed interest, but Leone said the feelings were not mutual.

Leone was 4-2 as a sophomore in 2011 with 44 strikeouts in 38.2 innings.

On the mound, Leone utilizes a two-seam fastball, changeup and curveball, with his fastball topping out at 92 miles-per-hour last season.

“My fastball has always been my best pitch, my fastball and changeup,” Leone said. “I work off of those two.”

As with all prep pitchers, Leone has work to do before he’s ready to pitch in college.

“I need to work on my command this year a little bit to get ready for college because high school hitters aren’t anything compared to hitters once you get to college,” he said.

According to Leone’s school website, he has been invited to the USA Baseball 18-and-Under national team tryouts in Cary, N.C., this summer.

Leone is Ole Miss’ sixth verbal commitment for its 2013 signing class, joining LHP Evan Anderson (Dale, Okla.), INF Dalton Dulin (Memphis), RHP Cheyne Bickel (North Palm Beach, Fla.), OF Carlos Williams (Covington, Tenn.) and 3B Colby Bortles (Oviedo, Fla.). (February 9, 2012, Page 8)

And the coming days and weeks don’t appear to present any relief.

As if playing on the road at No. 7 Kentucky and Florida weren’t tough enough to begin with, the Lady Rebels were without senior leader Nikki Byrd due to an undisclosed injury she suffered at the end of Ole Miss’ loss to Auburn on Jan. 29.

According to Ole Miss coach Renee Ladner, Byrd’s status is still up in the air, forcing the Lady Rebels to devote even more minutes to freshmen. (February 9, 2012, Page 9)

After struggling during the fall, the left-handed junior bounced back for the Rebels, allowing just two hits while striking out three in 4.2 shutout innings of work. (February 6, 2012, Page 4B)

In the end, Ole Miss fell 69-67 to Alabama in two overtimes, the second time in less than a month the Rebels have played and lost a game in two overtimes in the state of Alabama.

Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy praised the effort of each team, but he lamented the fact that they weren’t able to pull out the game similar to the one the Rebels lost at Auburn on Jan. 14. (February 6, 2012, Page 2B)

Ole Miss (14-8 overall, 4-4 in the Southeastern Conference) was outscored 28-21 in the second half by Alabama (15-7, 4-4) and 8-6 in the decisive second overtime period.

The Rebels appeared to be on the verge of winning their second SEC road game in the first overtime. Coming out of a timeout with four seconds left on the clock and on Alabama’s side of the floor, Ole Miss point guard Jarvis Summers drove to the goal and tried to split two Crimson Tide defenders.

Summers lost the ball after it appeared to be deflected slightly, thus ending a chance to win the contest with the game tied at 61. Ole Miss’ last lead of the game came at the 4:36 mark of the second overtime when Demarco Cox hit one of two free throws.

Alabama then took the lead for good on a follow-up dunk from Tony Mitchell. Ole Miss’ last great chance to keep the game close came with 30 seconds left in the game. Ole Miss got the ball across halfcourt after a make from Alabama’s Andrew Steele and called a timeout to discuss a final shot attempt.

Jelan Kendrick ended up taking a shot with 18 seconds, but his attempt missed the backboard altogether and hit out of bounds, giving the ball back to Alabama, which was able to then ice the contest at the free-throw line.

Nick Williams led Ole Miss with 19 points in the loss, while Terrance Henry finished with 14. JaMychal Green led Alabama with 16.

For more on Ole Miss’ setback in Tuscaloosa, see Monday’s Sports section. (February 4, 2012)