The University of Mississippi Athletics
Monday, November 24
Oxford, Miss.
6 PM
Ole Miss
vs
Longwood
Women’s Basketball Returns to Oxford to Host Longwood
11/23/2025 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. – For the first time in program history, Ole Miss women's basketball will matchup against Longwood on Monday, November 24. Tipoff at the SJB Pavilion will be at 6 p.m. CT, streaming on SEC Network+.
TEAM FACTS
No. 13/14 Ole Miss Rebels (4-0, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 8th Season at Ole Miss (129-95) • 13th Season in Career (223-158)
Longwood Lancers (4-2, 0-0 Big South)
Head Coach: Erika Lang-Montgomery • 4th Season at Longwood (43-56) • 14th Season in Career (154-214)
ON THE AIR
Television: SEC Network+
Play-by-Play: Jake Hromada
Color: Lindsay King
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
SCOUTING THE LANCERS
Erika Lang-Montgomery is in her fourth season guiding Longwood's women's basketball team. She's led the Lancers to three consecutive first-round byes in the Big South Conference Tournament. Last season, Longwood went 22-12 overall with an 11-5 conference record. The Lancers beat USC Upstate and Radford to reach the tournament round of the Big South Conference Tournament, but fell to High Point, 59-53. Longwood earned a spot in the WNIT, but fell to Duquesne in the first round.
Starting this season, Longwood is 4-2 and looking poised to repeat its success from last season. The Lancers have scored at least 120 points two times this season already, dropping 121 against Randolph and 128 against Bluefield. Their only losses have come to Navy and Virginia, the latter of which was their last time on the court. Much to do with their strong start has come from Longwood retaining all players who didn't graduate from last season. Longwood is one of just 19 Division I women's basketball teams to not lose a single player to the transfer portal.
One of the advantages Longwood possesses is that scoring can come from any member of the team on any given evening. Eleven players are averaging at least 5.0 points per game through six showings this season, and nine are averaging at least 7.0. Longwood is third in the country in bench points per game, averaging 41.8. Frances Ulysse is presently the top scorer for the Lancers, averaging 12.2 points with 5.8 rebounds per game. Longwood's top rebounder is Otaifo Esenabhalu, who has 7.4 boards per game.
Lang-Montgomery has developed Longwood into a defensive stalwart that is averaging close to 20 steals per game. At 19.3 steals per game, Longwood leads the country in that statistical category. A trio of players, Jesstynie Scott, Malea Brown and Jasmine Peaks, are averaging at least 3.0 steals per game. Scott, a freshman out of Americus, Georgia, has earned back-to-back Big South Freshman of the Week honors through the first two weeks of the season.
GAMES AGAINST THE BIG SOUTH
On top of facing an opponent for the first time ever, Ole Miss is facing a member of a relatively unfamiliar Big South Conference. Ole Miss has only faced two Big South teams in its 51-year history, them being High Point and Radford. The Rebels won both of those games. When Ole Miss faced High Point in 2016, the Rebels escaped with a 73-62 victory off the backs of four players putting up double-digit points. The Rebels beat Radford in 2000, 91-62, in the Vermont Tournament.
THE EXPECTATION, NOT THE EXCEPTION
Entering year eight of the Yolett McPhee-McCuin era in Oxford, the standard has been set. Two Sweet 16s in three years, four NCAA Tournaments in a row, four straight 10-win SEC seasons, multiple All-SEC selections and three WNBA Draft picks, the Rebels have re-asserted themselves as a top program in women's college basketball.
GIVE ME THE NUMBERS
The 2025-26 Ole Miss basketball roster boasts some serious career statistics. Combined this season's Rebel roster has 480 career DI starts, 15 all-conference selections and eight combined Sweet 16 appearances. Collectively, the team possesses 7,213 career points, 2,847 rebounds, 1,161 assists, 726 steals and 356 blocks.
Individually, Denim DeShields, Cotie McMahon and Kaitlin Peterson have each accrued over 1,000 points thus far in their career. Ole Miss is the only NCAA DI women's basketball program in the country to bring in a trio of players via the transfer portal who've reached the century mark in points.
HOME SWEET HOME
Rebel nation has turned the SJB Pavilion into an intimidating environment for visiting teams, especially in the nonconference slate. Ole Miss has won 33 of its last 36 games at home against nonconference opponents, dating back to the 2020 season. During the 2024-25 season, the Rebels won all seven nonconference games at the SJB Pavilion, the third time Ole Miss has entered conference competition undefeated at home under Coach Yo. The Rebels aim to build on that success with the six more nonconference matchups on their home court this year.
4-0
Starting off the year a perfect 4-0, Ole Miss is undefeated through the first four games of a season for the third time under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, also achieving the feat in the 2022-23 and 2020-21 seasons. It also marks only the seventh time in the 21st century a Rebel team earned a 4-0 record, seeing it in the 2022-23, 2020-21, 2016-17, 2008-09, 2002-03, and 2000-01 seasons.
TWO OF A KIND
Christeen Iwuala and Cotie McMahon have come to be a dominant frontcourt tandem, with each recording a double-double in the last two games. They are the only pair in the SEC to have both earned a double-double in the same two consecutive games this season. They also became the first Rebels since all-timer Madison Scott in the 2023-24 season to record a double-double in two straight games.
Adding to their strong start to the season, Iwuala and McMahon became the first pair of Rebels to begin a campaign with at least 10 points in the first four games since the 2020-21 season.
DIALED IN FROM DEEP
In the first game of the 2025-26 season, the Rebels put on a clinic from long distance, draining 13 threes on a 43.3 percent shooting clip. It surpasses last season's single game best by three and serves as the most since the Rebels clicked on 14 on Dec. 28, 2018, against North Florida. In the first quarter alone, Ole Miss converted five 3-pointers, matching last season's average in threes made per an entire game.
Cotie McMahon paced the team in made threes with four on six attempts (66.7%), followed by Tianna Thompson who made three on four attempts (75.0%). Alongside the leading pair, Debreasha Powe and Sira Thienou each earned two buckets from behind the arc, while Latasha Lattimore and Denim DeShields rounded out the Rebels' 3-point frenzy with one apiece.
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
Ole Miss opened the season on a historically dominant start on both ends of the court, earning a scoring margin of +43.3 over its first three opponents. This marks the first time in program history that the Rebels have opened a season with more than a +40-point win margin average through its first three games. Additionally, for only the 10th time in program history, and most recently since the 2014-15 season, Ole Miss has opened the season with three consecutive games of at least 80 points.
BONUS BASKETBALL
Down 13 points late in the third quarter against Memphis, Ole Miss showed its resilience and fought all the way back to force extra minutes. Once in overtime, it was all Rebels, allowing Ole Miss to win their first overtime game since Feb. 18, 2024, when they beat Mississippi State in Oxford, 75-71. Ole Miss has won the last four of its games that have been forced into overtime, dating back to the 2022-23 season. Additionally, Yolett McPhee-McCuin is now 5-4 in overtime games as the Rebels head coach.
Season and single game tickets for the 2025-26 campaign are on sale now. Click here to secure yours today or visit OleMissTix.com.
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. 13/14 Ole Miss Rebels (4-0, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 8th Season at Ole Miss (129-95) • 13th Season in Career (223-158)
Longwood Lancers (4-2, 0-0 Big South)
Head Coach: Erika Lang-Montgomery • 4th Season at Longwood (43-56) • 14th Season in Career (154-214)
ON THE AIR
Television: SEC Network+
Play-by-Play: Jake Hromada
Color: Lindsay King
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
SCOUTING THE LANCERS
Erika Lang-Montgomery is in her fourth season guiding Longwood's women's basketball team. She's led the Lancers to three consecutive first-round byes in the Big South Conference Tournament. Last season, Longwood went 22-12 overall with an 11-5 conference record. The Lancers beat USC Upstate and Radford to reach the tournament round of the Big South Conference Tournament, but fell to High Point, 59-53. Longwood earned a spot in the WNIT, but fell to Duquesne in the first round.
Starting this season, Longwood is 4-2 and looking poised to repeat its success from last season. The Lancers have scored at least 120 points two times this season already, dropping 121 against Randolph and 128 against Bluefield. Their only losses have come to Navy and Virginia, the latter of which was their last time on the court. Much to do with their strong start has come from Longwood retaining all players who didn't graduate from last season. Longwood is one of just 19 Division I women's basketball teams to not lose a single player to the transfer portal.
One of the advantages Longwood possesses is that scoring can come from any member of the team on any given evening. Eleven players are averaging at least 5.0 points per game through six showings this season, and nine are averaging at least 7.0. Longwood is third in the country in bench points per game, averaging 41.8. Frances Ulysse is presently the top scorer for the Lancers, averaging 12.2 points with 5.8 rebounds per game. Longwood's top rebounder is Otaifo Esenabhalu, who has 7.4 boards per game.
Lang-Montgomery has developed Longwood into a defensive stalwart that is averaging close to 20 steals per game. At 19.3 steals per game, Longwood leads the country in that statistical category. A trio of players, Jesstynie Scott, Malea Brown and Jasmine Peaks, are averaging at least 3.0 steals per game. Scott, a freshman out of Americus, Georgia, has earned back-to-back Big South Freshman of the Week honors through the first two weeks of the season.
GAMES AGAINST THE BIG SOUTH
On top of facing an opponent for the first time ever, Ole Miss is facing a member of a relatively unfamiliar Big South Conference. Ole Miss has only faced two Big South teams in its 51-year history, them being High Point and Radford. The Rebels won both of those games. When Ole Miss faced High Point in 2016, the Rebels escaped with a 73-62 victory off the backs of four players putting up double-digit points. The Rebels beat Radford in 2000, 91-62, in the Vermont Tournament.
THE EXPECTATION, NOT THE EXCEPTION
Entering year eight of the Yolett McPhee-McCuin era in Oxford, the standard has been set. Two Sweet 16s in three years, four NCAA Tournaments in a row, four straight 10-win SEC seasons, multiple All-SEC selections and three WNBA Draft picks, the Rebels have re-asserted themselves as a top program in women's college basketball.
GIVE ME THE NUMBERS
The 2025-26 Ole Miss basketball roster boasts some serious career statistics. Combined this season's Rebel roster has 480 career DI starts, 15 all-conference selections and eight combined Sweet 16 appearances. Collectively, the team possesses 7,213 career points, 2,847 rebounds, 1,161 assists, 726 steals and 356 blocks.
Individually, Denim DeShields, Cotie McMahon and Kaitlin Peterson have each accrued over 1,000 points thus far in their career. Ole Miss is the only NCAA DI women's basketball program in the country to bring in a trio of players via the transfer portal who've reached the century mark in points.
HOME SWEET HOME
Rebel nation has turned the SJB Pavilion into an intimidating environment for visiting teams, especially in the nonconference slate. Ole Miss has won 33 of its last 36 games at home against nonconference opponents, dating back to the 2020 season. During the 2024-25 season, the Rebels won all seven nonconference games at the SJB Pavilion, the third time Ole Miss has entered conference competition undefeated at home under Coach Yo. The Rebels aim to build on that success with the six more nonconference matchups on their home court this year.
4-0
Starting off the year a perfect 4-0, Ole Miss is undefeated through the first four games of a season for the third time under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, also achieving the feat in the 2022-23 and 2020-21 seasons. It also marks only the seventh time in the 21st century a Rebel team earned a 4-0 record, seeing it in the 2022-23, 2020-21, 2016-17, 2008-09, 2002-03, and 2000-01 seasons.
TWO OF A KIND
Christeen Iwuala and Cotie McMahon have come to be a dominant frontcourt tandem, with each recording a double-double in the last two games. They are the only pair in the SEC to have both earned a double-double in the same two consecutive games this season. They also became the first Rebels since all-timer Madison Scott in the 2023-24 season to record a double-double in two straight games.
Adding to their strong start to the season, Iwuala and McMahon became the first pair of Rebels to begin a campaign with at least 10 points in the first four games since the 2020-21 season.
DIALED IN FROM DEEP
In the first game of the 2025-26 season, the Rebels put on a clinic from long distance, draining 13 threes on a 43.3 percent shooting clip. It surpasses last season's single game best by three and serves as the most since the Rebels clicked on 14 on Dec. 28, 2018, against North Florida. In the first quarter alone, Ole Miss converted five 3-pointers, matching last season's average in threes made per an entire game.
Cotie McMahon paced the team in made threes with four on six attempts (66.7%), followed by Tianna Thompson who made three on four attempts (75.0%). Alongside the leading pair, Debreasha Powe and Sira Thienou each earned two buckets from behind the arc, while Latasha Lattimore and Denim DeShields rounded out the Rebels' 3-point frenzy with one apiece.
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
Ole Miss opened the season on a historically dominant start on both ends of the court, earning a scoring margin of +43.3 over its first three opponents. This marks the first time in program history that the Rebels have opened a season with more than a +40-point win margin average through its first three games. Additionally, for only the 10th time in program history, and most recently since the 2014-15 season, Ole Miss has opened the season with three consecutive games of at least 80 points.
BONUS BASKETBALL
Down 13 points late in the third quarter against Memphis, Ole Miss showed its resilience and fought all the way back to force extra minutes. Once in overtime, it was all Rebels, allowing Ole Miss to win their first overtime game since Feb. 18, 2024, when they beat Mississippi State in Oxford, 75-71. Ole Miss has won the last four of its games that have been forced into overtime, dating back to the 2022-23 season. Additionally, Yolett McPhee-McCuin is now 5-4 in overtime games as the Rebels head coach.
Season and single game tickets for the 2025-26 campaign are on sale now. Click here to secure yours today or visit OleMissTix.com.
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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