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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women’s Basketball Rides Momentum Into Conference Competition Following Historic Nonconference Slate
12/31/2024 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. – No. 25/25 Ole Miss women's basketball concluded its nonconference slate on Monday, opening a new chapter to the 2024-25 season after a historic 12 games.
Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has led Ole Miss to a 9-3 record entering conference play. It's the fourth straight season Ole Miss has registered at least nine wins against nonconference opponents. For the first time since the 1995-96 season, the Rebels remained ranked in the Associated Press Weekly Poll for the entirety of their nonconference schedule. The Rebels reached a peak of No. 17 in the preseason.
The Rebels won all seven games at the SJB Pavilion, the third time Ole Miss has entered conference competition undefeated at home under McPhee-McCuin. Its most recent victory, a 93-41 trouncing of Alcorn State, saw Ole Miss set the program record for field goal percentage with a .673 mark. It bests the previous record by over four percent, as the Rebels went 37-55 from the field.
Ole Miss' first SEC opponent is set to be Auburn on the road on Jan. 2. Ole Miss will look to open the conference schedule with a win for the fourth straight season.
As expected by a Coach Yo led team, defense has headlined Team 50's success in the early part of the season. The Rebels boast the No. 1 scoring defense in the country as of Dec. 31, holding opponents to 46.7 points per game. Ole Miss is one of two programs to hold opponents to average under 50 points through the first third of the 2024-25 season, the other being Kansas State who has allowed 49.9 points per game. Ole Miss has allowed more than 50 points only four times, and haven't permitted more than that total in four straight games entering SEC play. The Rebels have prevented two opponents from breaching 25 points twice this season, setting themselves apart from the Wildcats.
The Rebels have set and tied the program's record for fewest points allowed in those two sub-25-point games. Ole Miss forced Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alabama State to 24 points, which is the fewest allowed by an SEC team this season. The Rebels are also the only squad in the SEC to force two opponents to sub-30 points.
The Rebels have been able to lock down opponents from down low and beyond the arc. Ole Miss opponents are shooting .257 from three-point range through 12 games this season. The Rebels reached a peak of 12th-best nationally and on top of the SEC in that category. In the paint, the Rebels are averaging the ninth-most blocks per game in the country with 6.2. It marks two consecutive seasons where the Rebels averaged six or more blocks per game at the start of conference play.
The Rebels have been able to effectively turn defense into offense, holding the fifth highest turnover margin in the country. Ole Miss has forced at least 18 turnovers in every game this season with just under 13 steals per game, ranking 16th in the country.
Offensively, the Rebels are averaging 79.9 points per game, the most by a Rebel team at the beginning of conference play since 2020-21. The Rebels scored 90-plus points three times so far, with its highest-scoring outing against South Alabama. Ole Miss' 94 points is the most by a Rebel team since Nov. 14, 2021, and is the third-most points scored under McPhee-McCuin. The nonconference schedule also saw the first time under McPhee-McCuin that Ole Miss has registered at least three games with 90-plus points, and the first time since 2017-18.
Much of the Rebels' points this season have come from second-chance points from offensive rebounds. Ole Miss is ranked top 10 nationally in offensive boards, with Arkansas-Pine Bluff transfer Starr Jacobs heading the charge. Jacobs has brought down 3.3 rebounds from the offensive zone per game, the seventh-most in the SEC.
Ole Miss has the fifth best scoring margin in the country because of its ability to dominate on both ends of the court. Team 50 has left its mark on the Ole Miss record books, having set three of the 10 largest margins of victories in program history through 12 games. Entering 2024-25, the only other time a Rebel team had achieved this feat was during the 1982-83 season.
Ole Miss' most comfortable win came against Alabama State, where the Rebels trounced the Lady Hornets, 89-24. The 65-point victory is the widest point gap in program history, another mark left on the record book by Team 50.
Freshman phenom Sira Thienou has led the Rebels offensively through the nonconference slate. The Bamako, Mali, native is the only Rebel this season to score north of 20 points in a game this season. She scored 23 points against South Alabama, becoming the first Ole Miss freshman since 2020 to reach the 20-point mark.
Thienou averages 12.2 points per game, good for the third-most by an SEC freshman through 12 games. The guard has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week twice for her stellar play so far this season. She became the first Rebel to earn the accolade in multiple instances in a single season since Madison Scott secured the first-year recognition six times during the 2020-21 season.
One of the best two-way players for the Rebels, Thienou leads the team in steals with 2.3 per game. That mark is the sixth-best in the SEC. Thienou averages 5.3 rebounds per game and has led the team in scoring four times this season, which paces the team.
Forward Kennedy Todd-Williams has reached double-digit scoring eight times this season, matching Thienou. The senior became the 21st Rebel in program history to reach 1,400 overall career points against Mississippi Valley State. Todd-Williams has been active on the boards all season, averaging 5.6 per game. She's gotten five or more rebounds in a game seven times, with a season-high of 10 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Madison Scott and Jacobs have formed a formidable frontcourt tandem through the first 12 games of the season. The duo has secured a double-double each; Scott's was the 29th of her career, while Jacobs' was her 27th and first in the Blue and Red. Jacobs leads the team with 6.3 rebounds per game while Scott paces the team with 3.8 assists per game.
Alongside Jacobs, Tameiya Sadler and Christeen Iwuala have made names for themselves in their first season in Oxford. The two portal grabs have each played significant minutes off the bench, with Sadler earning seven starts. Sadler, the 5-foot-7 guard from Vallejo, California, registered a team season-high eight assists against South Alabama. That performance tied a career high for Sadler and marked the first instance of the season that a Rebel reached eight assists in a game. Ole Miss had four instances of this feat last season.
Iwuala has set or tied nearly all her single game statistical career highs while in Oxford, including points (12), rebounds (9), steals (3) and blocks (4). The forward has shown noticeable development in her short time at Ole Miss, particularly as a rebounder. Iwuala has led the team in rebounds twice this season and has reached at least five rebounds in a game six times thus far. She's on pace to set a personal season-high in rebounds by averaging 4.3 per game.
Veteran KK Deans has provided a spark off the bench in the latter half of nonconference games. She's contributed 8.8 points and 3.4 assists per game while reaching double-digit points five times. Deans is also shooting a team-leading 90.5 percent from the charity stripe.
The Rebels will hop right into conference play at the turn of the new year. Ole Miss is looking to ride the nonconference momentum into its remaining 16 games of the regular season on its search for an SEC Championship and its 21st NCAA Tournament berth.
Single-game tickets for the 2024-25 Ole Miss basketball season are on sale now. To purchase or learn more about buying season or single-game tickets for women's basketball, click here or contact the Ole Miss Athletics ticket office.
Follow the Rebels on X at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole MissWBB. You can also follow head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on X at @YolettMcCuin.
Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has led Ole Miss to a 9-3 record entering conference play. It's the fourth straight season Ole Miss has registered at least nine wins against nonconference opponents. For the first time since the 1995-96 season, the Rebels remained ranked in the Associated Press Weekly Poll for the entirety of their nonconference schedule. The Rebels reached a peak of No. 17 in the preseason.
The Rebels won all seven games at the SJB Pavilion, the third time Ole Miss has entered conference competition undefeated at home under McPhee-McCuin. Its most recent victory, a 93-41 trouncing of Alcorn State, saw Ole Miss set the program record for field goal percentage with a .673 mark. It bests the previous record by over four percent, as the Rebels went 37-55 from the field.
Ole Miss' first SEC opponent is set to be Auburn on the road on Jan. 2. Ole Miss will look to open the conference schedule with a win for the fourth straight season.
As expected by a Coach Yo led team, defense has headlined Team 50's success in the early part of the season. The Rebels boast the No. 1 scoring defense in the country as of Dec. 31, holding opponents to 46.7 points per game. Ole Miss is one of two programs to hold opponents to average under 50 points through the first third of the 2024-25 season, the other being Kansas State who has allowed 49.9 points per game. Ole Miss has allowed more than 50 points only four times, and haven't permitted more than that total in four straight games entering SEC play. The Rebels have prevented two opponents from breaching 25 points twice this season, setting themselves apart from the Wildcats.
The Rebels have set and tied the program's record for fewest points allowed in those two sub-25-point games. Ole Miss forced Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alabama State to 24 points, which is the fewest allowed by an SEC team this season. The Rebels are also the only squad in the SEC to force two opponents to sub-30 points.
The Rebels have been able to lock down opponents from down low and beyond the arc. Ole Miss opponents are shooting .257 from three-point range through 12 games this season. The Rebels reached a peak of 12th-best nationally and on top of the SEC in that category. In the paint, the Rebels are averaging the ninth-most blocks per game in the country with 6.2. It marks two consecutive seasons where the Rebels averaged six or more blocks per game at the start of conference play.
The Rebels have been able to effectively turn defense into offense, holding the fifth highest turnover margin in the country. Ole Miss has forced at least 18 turnovers in every game this season with just under 13 steals per game, ranking 16th in the country.
Offensively, the Rebels are averaging 79.9 points per game, the most by a Rebel team at the beginning of conference play since 2020-21. The Rebels scored 90-plus points three times so far, with its highest-scoring outing against South Alabama. Ole Miss' 94 points is the most by a Rebel team since Nov. 14, 2021, and is the third-most points scored under McPhee-McCuin. The nonconference schedule also saw the first time under McPhee-McCuin that Ole Miss has registered at least three games with 90-plus points, and the first time since 2017-18.
Much of the Rebels' points this season have come from second-chance points from offensive rebounds. Ole Miss is ranked top 10 nationally in offensive boards, with Arkansas-Pine Bluff transfer Starr Jacobs heading the charge. Jacobs has brought down 3.3 rebounds from the offensive zone per game, the seventh-most in the SEC.
Ole Miss has the fifth best scoring margin in the country because of its ability to dominate on both ends of the court. Team 50 has left its mark on the Ole Miss record books, having set three of the 10 largest margins of victories in program history through 12 games. Entering 2024-25, the only other time a Rebel team had achieved this feat was during the 1982-83 season.
Ole Miss' most comfortable win came against Alabama State, where the Rebels trounced the Lady Hornets, 89-24. The 65-point victory is the widest point gap in program history, another mark left on the record book by Team 50.
Freshman phenom Sira Thienou has led the Rebels offensively through the nonconference slate. The Bamako, Mali, native is the only Rebel this season to score north of 20 points in a game this season. She scored 23 points against South Alabama, becoming the first Ole Miss freshman since 2020 to reach the 20-point mark.
Thienou averages 12.2 points per game, good for the third-most by an SEC freshman through 12 games. The guard has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week twice for her stellar play so far this season. She became the first Rebel to earn the accolade in multiple instances in a single season since Madison Scott secured the first-year recognition six times during the 2020-21 season.
One of the best two-way players for the Rebels, Thienou leads the team in steals with 2.3 per game. That mark is the sixth-best in the SEC. Thienou averages 5.3 rebounds per game and has led the team in scoring four times this season, which paces the team.
Forward Kennedy Todd-Williams has reached double-digit scoring eight times this season, matching Thienou. The senior became the 21st Rebel in program history to reach 1,400 overall career points against Mississippi Valley State. Todd-Williams has been active on the boards all season, averaging 5.6 per game. She's gotten five or more rebounds in a game seven times, with a season-high of 10 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Madison Scott and Jacobs have formed a formidable frontcourt tandem through the first 12 games of the season. The duo has secured a double-double each; Scott's was the 29th of her career, while Jacobs' was her 27th and first in the Blue and Red. Jacobs leads the team with 6.3 rebounds per game while Scott paces the team with 3.8 assists per game.
Alongside Jacobs, Tameiya Sadler and Christeen Iwuala have made names for themselves in their first season in Oxford. The two portal grabs have each played significant minutes off the bench, with Sadler earning seven starts. Sadler, the 5-foot-7 guard from Vallejo, California, registered a team season-high eight assists against South Alabama. That performance tied a career high for Sadler and marked the first instance of the season that a Rebel reached eight assists in a game. Ole Miss had four instances of this feat last season.
Iwuala has set or tied nearly all her single game statistical career highs while in Oxford, including points (12), rebounds (9), steals (3) and blocks (4). The forward has shown noticeable development in her short time at Ole Miss, particularly as a rebounder. Iwuala has led the team in rebounds twice this season and has reached at least five rebounds in a game six times thus far. She's on pace to set a personal season-high in rebounds by averaging 4.3 per game.
Veteran KK Deans has provided a spark off the bench in the latter half of nonconference games. She's contributed 8.8 points and 3.4 assists per game while reaching double-digit points five times. Deans is also shooting a team-leading 90.5 percent from the charity stripe.
The Rebels will hop right into conference play at the turn of the new year. Ole Miss is looking to ride the nonconference momentum into its remaining 16 games of the regular season on its search for an SEC Championship and its 21st NCAA Tournament berth.
Single-game tickets for the 2024-25 Ole Miss basketball season are on sale now. To purchase or learn more about buying season or single-game tickets for women's basketball, click here or contact the Ole Miss Athletics ticket office.
Follow the Rebels on X at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole MissWBB. You can also follow head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on X at @YolettMcCuin.
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