The University of Mississippi Athletics
Thursday, January 2
Auburn, Ala.
6 PM
Ole Miss
at
Auburn
Women’s Basketball Commences Conference Play at Auburn
1/1/2025 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. – Coming off a historic nonconference season, Ole Miss women's basketball will begin the gauntlet of SEC play with a trip to Auburn to open its conference schedule on Thursday, Jan. 2. The Rebels will look for their fourth consecutive SEC opener victory, as tipoff against the Tigers is set for 6:00 p.m. CT, streaming on SEC Network+ from Neville Arena.
TEAM FACTS
No. 25/25 Ole Miss Rebels (9-3, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 7th Season at Ole Miss (112-87) • 12th Season in Career (206-150)
Auburn Tigers (9-4, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Johnnie Harris • 4th Season at Auburn (55-49) • 4th Season in Career (55-49)
ON THE AIR
Television: SEC Network+
Play-by-Play: Brad Law
Color: Joe Ciampi
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
OLE MISS VS. AUBURN
This is the 67th matchup between Ole Miss and Auburn in a series that dates to 1978. Auburn leads the series 38-29, but Ole Miss has claimed victory in four of the last five matchups. Auburn has maintained home court advantage in the series, holding a 20-9 record at Neville Arena against Ole Miss.
The Rebels claimed the first five games of the series from 1978-83. Arguably its best performance against Auburn came in the first matchup of the series on Dec. 8, 1978, when Ole Miss claimed a 107-62 victory. It was the third 100-point outing by the Rebels that season. In that game, the Rebels drained 47 field goals, which stands as the fifth-most in a single game in program history and the most by Ole Miss against an SEC opponent.
The Rebels squeaked out a 58-55 victory against the Tigers last season. The defensive battle saw the Rebels reject 10 shots by the Tigers, led by Rita Igbokwe and Madison Scott. The duo combined for six of the blocks, while former Tiger Kharyssa Richardson added a pair of her own. Scott also added a career-high eight assists as Marquesha Davis scored 15 points.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Johnnie Harris leads the Tigers in her fourth season as head coach. Auburn is 9-4 entering conference play and is coming off a 63-57 loss to Norfolk State.
Auburn's most complete game to this point of the season came against Virginia-Lynchburg. Auburn won, 128-36, scoring at least 30 points in all but one quarter of the game. The Tigers made 51 field goals against the Dragons, which is the most by an SEC team so far this season. Auburn also secured 25 steals against Virginia-Lynchburg, the second-most by an SEC team this year.
Auburn and Ole Miss pride themselves on the ability to cause mayhem for opponents offensive attacks. The Tigers hold the 14th-best scoring defense in the nation, allowing only 53.5 points per game.
DeYona Gaston heads the offensive attack for Auburn. The Texas transfer is putting up 22.7 points per game, which ranks third in the SEC and sixth nationally. She led the team in its blowout of Virginia-Lynchburg with a 36-point double double, where she added 11 rebounds. She's no slouch on the defensive end of the court either, leading the team with 1.75 blocks per game.
Gaston has five double doubles 13 games into 2024-25, and has already accumulated north of 100 rebounds on the season. She averages 4.3 offensive boards a game, which ranks third in the SEC.
Celia Sumbane and Taylen Collins form a trio of forwards alongside Gaston. They average 9.7 points apiece, with Collins behind Gaston with 6.5 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME OUT
Ole Miss closed its nonconference slate in historic fashion with a 93-41 victory over Alcorn State at the SJB Pavilion.
Ole Miss had its most efficient night of shooting in program history after going 67.3 percent from the field. Ole Miss' previous best field goal percentage mark is 63.1 percent, which it accomplished in the 2004-05 season against New Orleans. Three of the top six best field goal percentage performances in Ole Miss history have now come against Alcorn State.
Six Rebels, including all five starters, reached double-digit point totals against the Lady Braves. It's the second time in as many games that Ole Miss has seen all five starters in double figures, which previously hadn't been accomplished since 2018. It's the third time this season that at least five players have reached 10-plus points in a single game.
Ole Miss' assist-to-turnover ratio had its most beneficial day of the season. Ole Miss dished out 28 assists, which sets an SJB Pavilion record previously established in 2020, once again against Alcorn State. To complement its record-breaking assist total, Ole Miss committed only five turnovers, the fewest by the Rebels in the 2024-25 season.
Madison Scott once again registered a balanced stat line with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Eight days removed from her 29th career double-double, Scott came three rebounds and assists apiece away from securing the fourth triple-double in Ole Miss history.
IN OUR DEFENSE
It's well known that Ole Miss aims to dictate and disrupt, a goal the Rebel defense has accomplished in the non-conference slate.
Ole Miss has held the No. 1 spot in the nation for fewest points allowed per game since Dec. 15. Holding opponents to just 46.7 points per game, the Rebels will strive to remain the best defensive team into SEC play.
WE SCORE TOO!
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.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
True freshman guard Sira Thienou has wasted little time making her mark as an Ole Miss Rebel as the Bamako, Mali, native has been tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week twice this season, on Nov. 26 and Dec. 17. These recognitions mark the first such honors of her young career and the first awards of its type for an Ole Miss player since Madison Scott earned the same accolade six times as a true freshman during the 2020-21 season.
Thienou scored in double figures in three straight outings for the Rebels in November, including consecutive 16-point outbursts against Jackson State (Nov. 18) and Boston College (Nov. 25). The last time an Ole Miss freshman had a 16-plus point performance was when Scott earned 17 against No. 18 Arkansas, on Feb. 19, 2021.
In December, Thienou registered a career-high 23 points against South Alabama, marking the first 20+ performance by a Rebel this season and the most points scored by a SEC freshman that week. Thienou is the first Ole Miss freshman since the 2020-21 season to put up at least 20 points in a single game.
Additionally, Thienou currently holds a four game double-digit scoring streak, solidifying herself as the only Rebel freshman to achieve this feat in the last ten years.
Leading the Rebels with 12.3 points per game and eight double-digit scoring performances, Thienou will look to build on her already noteable freshman year in Ole Miss' conference slate.
RECORD BREAKING REBS
Ole Miss showed up and showed out in the nonconference slate of the 2024-25 season, earning three program records.
The Rebels allowed the fewest points in program history twice as it kept Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alabama State to just 24 points each. Yolett McPhee-McCuin's teams now hold the top-three spots in the record books of the fewest points allowed in Ole Miss history. The Rebels are also the only squad in the SEC to force two opponents to sub-30 points.
Ole Miss' last win in November was a convincing one. By defeating Alabama State by 65 points at the SJB Pavilion, it marks the widest margin of victory in program history and the largest in the McPhee-McCuin era.
It's the sixth instance of an Ole Miss team reaching the +60 mark and only the second time in history that the Rebels have achieved the feat twice in the same year. Previously, Ole Miss defeated Arkansas Pine-Bluff by 61 points in the Rebels' first victory this season. The last time an Ole Miss squad has secured two 60-point margins wins in a year was the 1982-83 season.
In its final game of the nonconference season, Ole Miss had its most efficient night of shooting in program history after going 67.3 percent from the field. Ole Miss' previous best field goal percentage mark is 63.1 percent, which it accomplished in the 2004-05 season against New Orleans.
Program Records Broken During 2024 Nonconference Season
• Fewest points allowed - vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff and Alabama State (24 points each)
• Widest margin of victory - vs. Alabama State (+65)
• Best field goal percentage - vs. Alcorn State (63.1%)
STAY CONNECTED WITH THE REBELS
Single-game tickets for the 2024-25 Ole Miss basketball season are on sale now. To purchase or learn more about buying 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.
TEAM FACTS
No. 25/25 Ole Miss Rebels (9-3, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 7th Season at Ole Miss (112-87) • 12th Season in Career (206-150)
Auburn Tigers (9-4, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Johnnie Harris • 4th Season at Auburn (55-49) • 4th Season in Career (55-49)
ON THE AIR
Television: SEC Network+
Play-by-Play: Brad Law
Color: Joe Ciampi
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
OLE MISS VS. AUBURN
This is the 67th matchup between Ole Miss and Auburn in a series that dates to 1978. Auburn leads the series 38-29, but Ole Miss has claimed victory in four of the last five matchups. Auburn has maintained home court advantage in the series, holding a 20-9 record at Neville Arena against Ole Miss.
The Rebels claimed the first five games of the series from 1978-83. Arguably its best performance against Auburn came in the first matchup of the series on Dec. 8, 1978, when Ole Miss claimed a 107-62 victory. It was the third 100-point outing by the Rebels that season. In that game, the Rebels drained 47 field goals, which stands as the fifth-most in a single game in program history and the most by Ole Miss against an SEC opponent.
The Rebels squeaked out a 58-55 victory against the Tigers last season. The defensive battle saw the Rebels reject 10 shots by the Tigers, led by Rita Igbokwe and Madison Scott. The duo combined for six of the blocks, while former Tiger Kharyssa Richardson added a pair of her own. Scott also added a career-high eight assists as Marquesha Davis scored 15 points.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Johnnie Harris leads the Tigers in her fourth season as head coach. Auburn is 9-4 entering conference play and is coming off a 63-57 loss to Norfolk State.
Auburn's most complete game to this point of the season came against Virginia-Lynchburg. Auburn won, 128-36, scoring at least 30 points in all but one quarter of the game. The Tigers made 51 field goals against the Dragons, which is the most by an SEC team so far this season. Auburn also secured 25 steals against Virginia-Lynchburg, the second-most by an SEC team this year.
Auburn and Ole Miss pride themselves on the ability to cause mayhem for opponents offensive attacks. The Tigers hold the 14th-best scoring defense in the nation, allowing only 53.5 points per game.
DeYona Gaston heads the offensive attack for Auburn. The Texas transfer is putting up 22.7 points per game, which ranks third in the SEC and sixth nationally. She led the team in its blowout of Virginia-Lynchburg with a 36-point double double, where she added 11 rebounds. She's no slouch on the defensive end of the court either, leading the team with 1.75 blocks per game.
Gaston has five double doubles 13 games into 2024-25, and has already accumulated north of 100 rebounds on the season. She averages 4.3 offensive boards a game, which ranks third in the SEC.
Celia Sumbane and Taylen Collins form a trio of forwards alongside Gaston. They average 9.7 points apiece, with Collins behind Gaston with 6.5 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME OUT
Ole Miss closed its nonconference slate in historic fashion with a 93-41 victory over Alcorn State at the SJB Pavilion.
Ole Miss had its most efficient night of shooting in program history after going 67.3 percent from the field. Ole Miss' previous best field goal percentage mark is 63.1 percent, which it accomplished in the 2004-05 season against New Orleans. Three of the top six best field goal percentage performances in Ole Miss history have now come against Alcorn State.
Six Rebels, including all five starters, reached double-digit point totals against the Lady Braves. It's the second time in as many games that Ole Miss has seen all five starters in double figures, which previously hadn't been accomplished since 2018. It's the third time this season that at least five players have reached 10-plus points in a single game.
Ole Miss' assist-to-turnover ratio had its most beneficial day of the season. Ole Miss dished out 28 assists, which sets an SJB Pavilion record previously established in 2020, once again against Alcorn State. To complement its record-breaking assist total, Ole Miss committed only five turnovers, the fewest by the Rebels in the 2024-25 season.
Madison Scott once again registered a balanced stat line with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Eight days removed from her 29th career double-double, Scott came three rebounds and assists apiece away from securing the fourth triple-double in Ole Miss history.
IN OUR DEFENSE
It's well known that Ole Miss aims to dictate and disrupt, a goal the Rebel defense has accomplished in the non-conference slate.
Ole Miss has held the No. 1 spot in the nation for fewest points allowed per game since Dec. 15. Holding opponents to just 46.7 points per game, the Rebels will strive to remain the best defensive team into SEC play.
WE SCORE TOO!
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.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
True freshman guard Sira Thienou has wasted little time making her mark as an Ole Miss Rebel as the Bamako, Mali, native has been tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week twice this season, on Nov. 26 and Dec. 17. These recognitions mark the first such honors of her young career and the first awards of its type for an Ole Miss player since Madison Scott earned the same accolade six times as a true freshman during the 2020-21 season.
Thienou scored in double figures in three straight outings for the Rebels in November, including consecutive 16-point outbursts against Jackson State (Nov. 18) and Boston College (Nov. 25). The last time an Ole Miss freshman had a 16-plus point performance was when Scott earned 17 against No. 18 Arkansas, on Feb. 19, 2021.
In December, Thienou registered a career-high 23 points against South Alabama, marking the first 20+ performance by a Rebel this season and the most points scored by a SEC freshman that week. Thienou is the first Ole Miss freshman since the 2020-21 season to put up at least 20 points in a single game.
Additionally, Thienou currently holds a four game double-digit scoring streak, solidifying herself as the only Rebel freshman to achieve this feat in the last ten years.
Leading the Rebels with 12.3 points per game and eight double-digit scoring performances, Thienou will look to build on her already noteable freshman year in Ole Miss' conference slate.
RECORD BREAKING REBS
Ole Miss showed up and showed out in the nonconference slate of the 2024-25 season, earning three program records.
The Rebels allowed the fewest points in program history twice as it kept Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alabama State to just 24 points each. Yolett McPhee-McCuin's teams now hold the top-three spots in the record books of the fewest points allowed in Ole Miss history. The Rebels are also the only squad in the SEC to force two opponents to sub-30 points.
Ole Miss' last win in November was a convincing one. By defeating Alabama State by 65 points at the SJB Pavilion, it marks the widest margin of victory in program history and the largest in the McPhee-McCuin era.
It's the sixth instance of an Ole Miss team reaching the +60 mark and only the second time in history that the Rebels have achieved the feat twice in the same year. Previously, Ole Miss defeated Arkansas Pine-Bluff by 61 points in the Rebels' first victory this season. The last time an Ole Miss squad has secured two 60-point margins wins in a year was the 1982-83 season.
In its final game of the nonconference season, Ole Miss had its most efficient night of shooting in program history after going 67.3 percent from the field. Ole Miss' previous best field goal percentage mark is 63.1 percent, which it accomplished in the 2004-05 season against New Orleans.
Program Records Broken During 2024 Nonconference Season
• Fewest points allowed - vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff and Alabama State (24 points each)
• Widest margin of victory - vs. Alabama State (+65)
• Best field goal percentage - vs. Alcorn State (63.1%)
STAY CONNECTED WITH THE REBELS
Single-game tickets for the 2024-25 Ole Miss basketball season are on sale now. To purchase or learn more about buying 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.
Players Mentioned
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