The University of Mississippi Athletics
Team 50 on Deck, Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Unveils 2024-25 Roster
9/18/2024 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. – Success is now the standard entering year seven under head women's basketball coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, as the Rebels' fearless leader looks to bring JOY! To the game in revealing her 2024-25 roster.
THE RETURNERS
Coming off of its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a win in the Big Dance, the Rebels return eight, including three key starters. Entering her fifth season in Oxford, Madison Scott has the opportunity to cement herself as one of the greatest Rebels in program history. The forward looks to climb up the Rebel record books and jump into the top-10 in games played, career double-doubles, double-digit scoring games, rebounds, points and blocks. Coming off of a First-Team All-SEC Season, Scott also has the chance for a three-peat on the SEC All-Defensive Squad.
Appearing in all 33 games and making 25 starts in her first season as a Rebel, Kennedy Todd-Williams readies for her final season of collegiate eligibility. Last year, Todd-Williams averaged 10.6 points per outing and turned it up in SEC play where she matched her career-high in scoring with 22 points in a road outing at Georgia. The duo of Todd-Williams and Scott accounted for 45% of the Rebel assists dished out in 2023-24.
KK Deans was off to a hot start last November with the promise of becoming the next great floor general for the Rebels, however injury sidelined the guard who was then granted her sixth year of eligibility. Through six games for Ole Miss last year, Deans averaged 9.3 points per game, while dishing out 3.8 assists. Deans preps to be a vocal leader for the Rebels in her last dance.
Providing strong minutes as a reserve in her debut season in Oxford, Kharyssa Richardson readies for her role to expand and provide a presence on the inside. As a sophomore, Richardson played in all 33 games, starting in six. Averaging 5.8 points, shooting an efficient 44% from the field on the year, Richardson shined bright in Ole Miss' first win over Tennessee since 2017 as she went on to record a career-high 21 points.
Back for year three, Ayanna Thompson provided support off the bench in 29 appearances as a sophomore and tallied a season-high nine points in the NCAA Tournament against Notre Dame.
No longer the new kids on the block, Rhema Collins, Mariyah Noel and J'Adore Young enter their sophomore seasons after playing in limited minutes as freshmen.
THE TRANSFERS
Once again, McPhee-McCuin hit the portal to do some "grocery shopping" and bring in some of the finest products from throughout the country to bolster the Rebel lineup. Three new additions with a combined 10 years of experience at the Division I level join the roster, in Christeen Iwuala, Starr Jacobs and Tameiya Sadler.
Iwuala comes to Oxford after spending two seasons at UCLA, where she was a member of two Sweet 16 teams with the Bruins. A native of San Antonio, Texas, the forward appeared in 68 games where she shot at a smooth 47.5% from the field. In 2022, Iwuala was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week following a career-best outing against Cal State Fullerton with 10 points and eight rebounds. Coming out of Midway High School, Iwuala was touted as the 49th overall recruit according to ESPNW's HoopGurlz.
A prolific scorer throughout her collegiate career, Starr Jacobs joins the Rebels after sitting out last season at Arkansas-Pine Bluff due to NCAA rules. Prior to UAPB, Jacobs lit it up at UT-Arlington over two years with the Lady Mavs. Jacobs became the first player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points in two seasons and finished her career ranked 14th in scoring at UTA. In 2023, Jacobs was tabbed as the WAC Player of the Year along with All-Defensive Team and First Team All-WAC accolades after averaging 18.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. During conference action as a redshirt senior, she led the WAC in scoring, rebounding and steals in conference action. As a redshirt junior, Jacobs was one of two players national to average at least 21.0 points, 2.0 steals and shoot at least 50% from the field and was the first player in school history to average at least 20 points per game.
Entering her final season of eligibility, Tameiya Sadler dons an Ole Miss uniform after three seasons at Colorado. With the Buffs, Sadler was a part of back-to-back Sweet 16 squads and appeared in 94 games while making 26 starts. Sadler averaged 5.2 points per game for the Buffaloes, while dishing out an average of 1.5 assists per game. As a senior she totaled six double-digit games and scored a CU high 16 points at Arizona State as a junior. Prior to Colorado, Sadler spent a season at Washington where she ranked second on the team with 10.4 points per game. With the Huskies, Sadler totaled a career-high 23 points on the road at BYU and tallied 10 or more points in 10 games.
THE FRESHMEN
McPhee-McCuin scoured the globe for her 2024 signees, bringing in four freshmen from four different countries to round out the 2024-25 roster.
Out of renowned IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Heloisa Carrera adds a presence on the inside with her 6-2 frame. A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Carrera represented her home country at the 2023 FIBA Women's Basketball U19 World Cup in Spain. At the tournament, she averaged 4.3 rebounds per game. Hailing from an athletic family, her father Christian played basketball professionally throughout South America and Italy, while her mother Henriete was a renowned swimmer who participated in the World Cup for Brazil.
A native of Aviero, Portugal, Fatu Djaló lit it up on the European Circuit for her home country. She burst onto the scene the 2023 Women's European Championships, she averaged 11.4 points per game over seven contests. This past summer at the U20 Women's Eurobasket Championships in Lithuania, Djaló led Portugal with a team best 10.0 points per game.
Hailing from Nigeria, yet also representing Slovenia, Jite Gbemuotor played for the Slovenian national team at the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championships in Bulgaria where her country went on to claim the title. Gbemuotor averaged 5.7 rebounds per contest throughout the tournament. Spending time in the Women's Adriatic League playing for Cinkarna Celje, Gbemuotor was named as the WABA Youth Player of the Year in 2022. This past year in 2024, she was named one of the league's best five players after averaging 9.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.
Spending her final two seasons at Shining Stars Academy in Virginia, Sira Thienou hails from Bamako, Mali. Representing her country on the world stage, Thienou appeared in the 2023 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup, scoring 15 points in six out of seven games at the tournament to lead Mali to a fifth-place finish at the event. An attendee of the NBA Academy Women's Program, she was also rated as a four-star recruit by Prospects Nation. Most recently, she appeared for Mali in the Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Mexico City this past summer. Thienou averaged 11.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists at the event.
Renewals and new season tickets for the 2024-25 Ole Miss basketball season are on sale now. To purchase or learn more about becoming a season ticket holder for women's basketball, click here or contact the Ole Miss Athletics ticket office.
Follow the Rebels on X at @OleMisssWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at OleMissWBB. You can also follow head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on X at @YolettMcCuin.
THE RETURNERS
Coming off of its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a win in the Big Dance, the Rebels return eight, including three key starters. Entering her fifth season in Oxford, Madison Scott has the opportunity to cement herself as one of the greatest Rebels in program history. The forward looks to climb up the Rebel record books and jump into the top-10 in games played, career double-doubles, double-digit scoring games, rebounds, points and blocks. Coming off of a First-Team All-SEC Season, Scott also has the chance for a three-peat on the SEC All-Defensive Squad.
Appearing in all 33 games and making 25 starts in her first season as a Rebel, Kennedy Todd-Williams readies for her final season of collegiate eligibility. Last year, Todd-Williams averaged 10.6 points per outing and turned it up in SEC play where she matched her career-high in scoring with 22 points in a road outing at Georgia. The duo of Todd-Williams and Scott accounted for 45% of the Rebel assists dished out in 2023-24.
KK Deans was off to a hot start last November with the promise of becoming the next great floor general for the Rebels, however injury sidelined the guard who was then granted her sixth year of eligibility. Through six games for Ole Miss last year, Deans averaged 9.3 points per game, while dishing out 3.8 assists. Deans preps to be a vocal leader for the Rebels in her last dance.
Providing strong minutes as a reserve in her debut season in Oxford, Kharyssa Richardson readies for her role to expand and provide a presence on the inside. As a sophomore, Richardson played in all 33 games, starting in six. Averaging 5.8 points, shooting an efficient 44% from the field on the year, Richardson shined bright in Ole Miss' first win over Tennessee since 2017 as she went on to record a career-high 21 points.
Back for year three, Ayanna Thompson provided support off the bench in 29 appearances as a sophomore and tallied a season-high nine points in the NCAA Tournament against Notre Dame.
No longer the new kids on the block, Rhema Collins, Mariyah Noel and J'Adore Young enter their sophomore seasons after playing in limited minutes as freshmen.
THE TRANSFERS
Once again, McPhee-McCuin hit the portal to do some "grocery shopping" and bring in some of the finest products from throughout the country to bolster the Rebel lineup. Three new additions with a combined 10 years of experience at the Division I level join the roster, in Christeen Iwuala, Starr Jacobs and Tameiya Sadler.
Iwuala comes to Oxford after spending two seasons at UCLA, where she was a member of two Sweet 16 teams with the Bruins. A native of San Antonio, Texas, the forward appeared in 68 games where she shot at a smooth 47.5% from the field. In 2022, Iwuala was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week following a career-best outing against Cal State Fullerton with 10 points and eight rebounds. Coming out of Midway High School, Iwuala was touted as the 49th overall recruit according to ESPNW's HoopGurlz.
A prolific scorer throughout her collegiate career, Starr Jacobs joins the Rebels after sitting out last season at Arkansas-Pine Bluff due to NCAA rules. Prior to UAPB, Jacobs lit it up at UT-Arlington over two years with the Lady Mavs. Jacobs became the first player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points in two seasons and finished her career ranked 14th in scoring at UTA. In 2023, Jacobs was tabbed as the WAC Player of the Year along with All-Defensive Team and First Team All-WAC accolades after averaging 18.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. During conference action as a redshirt senior, she led the WAC in scoring, rebounding and steals in conference action. As a redshirt junior, Jacobs was one of two players national to average at least 21.0 points, 2.0 steals and shoot at least 50% from the field and was the first player in school history to average at least 20 points per game.
Entering her final season of eligibility, Tameiya Sadler dons an Ole Miss uniform after three seasons at Colorado. With the Buffs, Sadler was a part of back-to-back Sweet 16 squads and appeared in 94 games while making 26 starts. Sadler averaged 5.2 points per game for the Buffaloes, while dishing out an average of 1.5 assists per game. As a senior she totaled six double-digit games and scored a CU high 16 points at Arizona State as a junior. Prior to Colorado, Sadler spent a season at Washington where she ranked second on the team with 10.4 points per game. With the Huskies, Sadler totaled a career-high 23 points on the road at BYU and tallied 10 or more points in 10 games.
THE FRESHMEN
McPhee-McCuin scoured the globe for her 2024 signees, bringing in four freshmen from four different countries to round out the 2024-25 roster.
Out of renowned IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Heloisa Carrera adds a presence on the inside with her 6-2 frame. A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Carrera represented her home country at the 2023 FIBA Women's Basketball U19 World Cup in Spain. At the tournament, she averaged 4.3 rebounds per game. Hailing from an athletic family, her father Christian played basketball professionally throughout South America and Italy, while her mother Henriete was a renowned swimmer who participated in the World Cup for Brazil.
A native of Aviero, Portugal, Fatu Djaló lit it up on the European Circuit for her home country. She burst onto the scene the 2023 Women's European Championships, she averaged 11.4 points per game over seven contests. This past summer at the U20 Women's Eurobasket Championships in Lithuania, Djaló led Portugal with a team best 10.0 points per game.
Hailing from Nigeria, yet also representing Slovenia, Jite Gbemuotor played for the Slovenian national team at the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championships in Bulgaria where her country went on to claim the title. Gbemuotor averaged 5.7 rebounds per contest throughout the tournament. Spending time in the Women's Adriatic League playing for Cinkarna Celje, Gbemuotor was named as the WABA Youth Player of the Year in 2022. This past year in 2024, she was named one of the league's best five players after averaging 9.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.
Spending her final two seasons at Shining Stars Academy in Virginia, Sira Thienou hails from Bamako, Mali. Representing her country on the world stage, Thienou appeared in the 2023 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup, scoring 15 points in six out of seven games at the tournament to lead Mali to a fifth-place finish at the event. An attendee of the NBA Academy Women's Program, she was also rated as a four-star recruit by Prospects Nation. Most recently, she appeared for Mali in the Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Mexico City this past summer. Thienou averaged 11.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists at the event.
Renewals and new season tickets for the 2024-25 Ole Miss basketball season are on sale now. To purchase or learn more about becoming a season ticket holder for women's basketball, click here or contact the Ole Miss Athletics ticket office.
Follow the Rebels on X at @OleMisssWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at OleMissWBB. You can also follow head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on X at @YolettMcCuin.
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