No. 24 Ole Miss began play at the 2026 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament with a resounding 73-57 win against Auburn.
That win ended a four-game losing streak the Rebels had to end the regular season, but that wasn’t a factor to Ole Miss.
“Who mentioned the four-game losing streak? Because I hadn’t thought about it,” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “This is a new season. That’s my mindset. I could care less about what happened yesterday. I’m focused on today. Today we won, and we went 1-0.
“Fans care about that stuff. People outside care about that stuff. I don’t. What I care about is this is our fifth 20-plus win season. This will be our fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in a row. And we have a chance to keep going 1-0 and see what happens.”
That same mentality will be applied to the Rebels’ next opponent, No. 5 Vanderbilt. The Rebels won the regular season meeting against the Commodores, 83-75. But that game may as well of not have happened.
“For us, it’s about being ourselves,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Before I came out here, I asked the team, ‘Tell me about Vanderbilt.’ They were able to give me the scouting report right away because we played them recently when we were in Birmingham for those 12 days. So, it’s still fresh.
“Tonight I asked them to watch the game again just to refresh themselves, but for us the focus is still the same: dictate and disrupt.”
We’ll find out if the Rebels can dictate and disrupt the Commodores enough to advance to SEC Tournament’s semifinals.
The Opponent: Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt goes as Mikayla Blakes goes, and she’s been as steady as anyone in the country. Last year’s SEC Freshman of the Year has taken another step under Shea Ralph, leading the nation at 27.1 points per game while also adding 4.6 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.9 steals. She leads the SEC in made field goals and free throws, which explains why she’s pacing the league in total points.
But Vanderbilt isn’t just leaning on one star. The Commodores come into Friday at 27-3 and sit inside the top 10 nationally in scoring offense, with an 11th‑ranked scoring margin to match. They’re one of the best three‑point shooting teams Ole Miss will see all year, averaging 9.7 made threes per game (fifth in the country) and hitting them at a 36.8 percent clip.
They also take care of the ball at a high level. Vanderbilt ranks fifth nationally in assist‑to‑turnover ratio at 1.49, thanks in large part to freshman guard Aubrey Galvan. Her 2.31 ratio is in the top 20 in the country, and she’s already become another example of Ralph landing impact freshmen.
Galvan is second on the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game, ranks top five in the SEC in both assists and steals, and was recently named SEC Freshman of the Year.
How to Watch: No. 24 Ole Miss vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt
- Who: No. 24 Ole Miss Rebels (22-10, 8-8 SEC) vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodores (27-3, 13-3 SEC)
- When: 5 p.m., Friday
- Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
- TV: SEC Network
- Radio: Live Radio
- Stats: Live Stats
- Series History: Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 35-23
- Last Meeting: Ole Miss 83, Vanderbilt 75 (January 30, 2026)
- Last time out, Rebels: def. Auburn, 73-57
- Last time out, Commodores: def. Tennessee, 87-77
Ole Miss Top Performers
- Points: Cotie McMahon, 19.6 ppg
- Rebounds: Christeen Iwuala, 8.5 rpg
- Assists: Cotie McMahon, 95 (3.0 avg.)
- Steals: Sira Thienou, 44 (1.6 avg.)
- Blocks: Latasha Lattimore, 71 (2.2 avg.)
Vanderbilt Top Performers
- Points: Mikayla Blakes, 27.1 ppg
- Rebounds: Sacha Washington, 7.6 rpg
- Assists: Aubrey Galvan, 178 (5.9 avg.)
- Steals: Mikayla Blakes, 88 (2.9 avg.)
- Blocks: Aiyana Mitchell, 28 (0.9 avg.)
Student-Athlete Availability Report
Ole Miss
Out
- #0 Sira Thienou
Vanderbilt
Out
- #4 Madison Greene
Odds, Spread, Totals
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Spread
- Ole Miss: +7.5 (-122)
- Vanderbilt: -7.5 (-108)
Moneyline
- Ole Miss: +250
- Vanderbilt: -360
Total
- Over: 148.5 (-114)
- Under: 148.5 (-114)
