OXFORD — Carletta Brown is among the Ole Miss Lady Rebelsrealizing a dream come true this weekend. They flew to Ames, Iowa,for the opening round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament andplay Villanova tonight at 6 p.m.

“We are excited,” said Brown, a 5-foot-4 Franklin County HighSchool graduate and a resident of Roxie. “We are looking forward toplaying Villanova.”

A junior, Brown averages 8.9 points per game. She makes 71percent of her free throws, 31 percent from 2-point field goal landand 23 percent beyond the arc.

As a playmaker, Brown has accounted for 141 assists and 42steals this season. She averages 2.1 rebounds per game.

” I’m running the team better,” said Brown. “We are playing withmore confidence. Coach wants to get me to shoot more but I like toget more people involved. We are playing harder.”

The daughter of Lola and Carlton Brown, she enjoys cookingoutside when she visits Roxie. “I miss the home cooking. We usuallyjust have a big cookout when I get home.”

Asked about her best game this season, Brown remembered the Feb.29 encounter with Arkansas in Tad Smith Coliseum, an 84-73 triumph.”I had my first double-double against Arkansas,17 points and 13assists.”

As a sophomore she scored a career-high 23 points againstAlabama.

After five straight losing seasons under Sonny Aldy, the LadyRebels have made a mighty turnaround since Ross was hired lastMarch. They were 12-16 last season.

Ross, named SEC Coach of the Year, is a former Ole Miss guardwho played for Van Chancellor. She spent the last 12 seasonscoaching at Florida.

“Carletta is very responsible on the floor,” said Ross. “She hasa knack for knowing when to shoot and when to drive to thebasket.”

Brown knows the 10th-seeded Lady Rebels will tackle a tall andtough opponent in No. 7 seed Villanova (22-6) tonight.

“Villanova is a very good fundamental basketball team,” saidBrown. “They like their opponents to play their kind of basketballgame which is very, very slow.

“They like to work the shot clock down to under 10 before theytake a shot. They play a sagging defense and try to clog up thelane.”

Brown believes the Lady Rebels can use their speed and quicknesseffectively against Villanova. “I feel like we can dominate thepaint. The most important thing is that we have to run instead ofplaying their style of basketball.”

Villanova is powered by Liah Suez, a product of Israel.

“The girl from Israel is very good,” said Brown. “She plays thefour spot. She can shoot outside and post up, too. Overall, theyare pretty big. They have a 5-10 point guard. Everybody is 6-footand 6-1.”

Brown said she has confidence in the Ole Miss squad. “I think wehave a great team. We try to play hard every night. We have come along way.”

Winner of that game meets the winner between No. 2 seed Purdue(27-3) and No. 15 seed St. Francis (25-5) on Tuesday.

On coach Ross, Brown said, “It’s fun playing for Coach Ross. Sheworks us hard every day. She’s very intense in practice. Everythingmoves so fast. We get a lot of work done.”

The Lady Rebels are led by 5-9 freshman sensation ArmintiePrice, the SEC’s Freshman of the Year. Also in the starting lineupare 6-3 center Amber Watts, 5-8 guard Genice Terry and 6-1 forwardTywanna Inmon.

“Armentie is a great player,” said Brown. “She brings a lot tothis team. You can count on her every night to play hard. She doesthe same thing in practice and on the floor.”

As a senior at FCHS, Brown was named Miss Basketball on TheDAILY LEADER’s All-Area Basketball Team. She was a sparkling jewelon a losing team.

A pre-pharmacy major, Brown was Salutatorian and Senior Classpresident at FCHS. She was voted Homecoming Queen and Miss FranklinCounty High.