Ole Miss women's basketball coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin talks to her players during a SEC Tournament semifinal game against Texas. | Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss women's basketball coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin talks to her players during a SEC Tournament semifinal game against Texas. | Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss Looks Built for March Run After SEC Tournament Test

BY Taylor Hodges

March Madness is here and the craziness will begin soon enough.

Ole Miss women’s basketball is back in the middle of it all for the fifth-straight season and just showed why they’re dangerous in the SEC Tournament.

The Rebels posted dominant wins against Auburn and Vanderbilt, a No. 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament, before falling to the eventual SEC Champion, Texas.

Before that they played four games in eight days, including three against ranked foes including LSU and South Carolina, two of the top teams in the country.

Ole Miss is certainly prepared for what’s about to come.

“We played four games in eight days and then three games in a row in the SEC Tournament against the best teams in the league,” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said after the tournament field was announced on Sunday. “After going through that, it’s hard not to feel prepared when the schedule slows down and you have a day between games.”

The Rebels also played that stretch without one of their best defenders in Sira Thienou, but she’s fully recovered and ready for the NCAA Tournament.

“Oh, yeah, I’m back,” she said at Sunday’s press conference.

“Sira has practiced the last couple of days and looks great,” McPhee-McCuin said. “She just looks like she has fresh legs.”

Fresh legs will help Ole Miss after a grueling stretch of two weeks. But that time without Thienou did have some positive benefits.

“Tianna (Thompson) and Jayla (Murray) gained a lot of experience while she was out,” McPhee-McCuin said. “That’s where the depth comes from now. Before Sierra got hurt, we really didn’t have that. I wasn’t playing those kids much. Now we have people we can call on and actual rotations.”

That extra depth may prove vital over the next month, or however long the Rebels run in the NCAA Tournament lasts.

Don’t be surprised, though, if Ole Miss is back in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year. The Rebels are double-digit favorites against Gonzaga in the opening round game (see odds below).

If they win that game, they’ll face the winner of No. 4-seed Minnesota and No. 13-seed Green Bay. All three opponents are winnable for Ole Miss.

How to Watch: Gonzaga vs. Ole Miss, NCAA Tournament 1st Round

  • Who: No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs (24-9) vs. No. 5 Ole Miss Rebels (23-11)
  • When: 2:30 p.m., Friday
  • Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minn.
  • TV: ESPN2
  • Radio: Live Radio
  • Stats: Live Stats
  • Series History: Ole Miss leads the all-time series 2-1
  • Last Meeting: Ole Miss 71, Gonzaga 48 (March 17, 2023)
  • Last time out, Rebels: lost to Texas, 85-68 (SEC Tournament semifinals)
  • Last time out, Bulldogs: def. Oregon State, 76-66 (WCC Championship)

Ole Miss Top Performers

  • Points: Cotie McMahon, 19.9 ppg
  • Rebounds: Christeen Iwuala, 8.4 rpg
  • Assists: Cotie McMahon, 103 (3.0 avg.)
  • Steals: Sira Thienou, 44 (1.6 avg.)
  • Blocks: Latasha Lattimore, 73 (2.1 avg.)

Gonzaga Top Performers

  • Points: Lauren Whittaker, 19.4 ppg
  • Rebounds: Lauren Whittaker, 10.2 rpg
  • Assists: Allie Turner, 114 (3.6 avg.)
  • Steals: Inês Bettencourt, 47 (1.4 avg.)
  • Blocks: Taylor Smith, 18 (0.5 avg.)

Odds, Spread, Totals

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

  • Gonzaga: +14.5 (-114)
  • Ole Miss: -14.5 (-106)

Moneyline

  • Gonzaga: +630
  • Ole Miss: -1050

Total

  • Over: 136.5 (-110)
  • Under: 136.5 (-110)

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