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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Monday, December 22
Cherokee, N.C.
6:30 PM
Ole Miss
vs
Michigan State
Women’s Basketball Set for Cherokee Invitational Championship Versus Michigan State
12/22/2025 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. – After defeating Old Dominion, 86-57, on Sunday night, No. 14/14 Ole Miss women's basketball advanced to the Cherokee Invitational championship game, taking on No. 24/23 Michigan State on Monday, December 22. Tipoff at the Harrah's Cherokee Resort in Cherokee, North Carolina will be at 6:30 p.m. CT, streaming on Women's Sports Network.
TEAM FACTS
No. 14/14 Ole Miss Rebels (12-1, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 8th Season at Ole Miss (137-96) • 13th Season in Career (231-159)
No. 24/23 Michigan State Spartans (10-1, 1-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Robyn Fralick • 3rd Season at MSU (54-20) • 11th Season in Career (246-96)
ON THE AIR
Television: Women's Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Shawn Crowe
Color: Jennifer George
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
SERIES HISTORY
The Rebels and Spartans are set to face off for the first time ever. It marks the fourth time this season Ole Miss has faced an opponent for the first time in its 51-year history.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Robyn Fralick is in her third season leading Michigan State's women's basketball program and 11th overall in her career. Since her arrival in East Lansing on March 31, 2023, Fralick has quickly made history. She became the sixth head coach in program history and the first to lead the Spartans to an NCAA Tournament berth in her debut season.
In her first year at the helm of the Spartans, Michigan State went 2-0 to earn the Cherokee Invitational title in 2023. The Spartans out-scored its opponents 94.0-71.0. Julia Ayrault averaged 22.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the pair of victories with Moira Joiner adding 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Joiner went 9-for-14 from beyond the arc, shooting 64.3 percent from long range. Ayrault shot 48.5 percent from the field.
The Spartans are first tied for first in the Big Ten in scoring offense with Michigan, averaging 92.5 ppg and first in scoring margin (+39.8). Michigan State is also first in 3-point field goal field percentage (.397). The Spartans stand first in assists per game, averaging 22.9 apg and second in steals per game with 14.4 spg. Individually, Rashunda Jones is second in the league in steals per game averaging 3.1 spg, while senior forward Grace VanSlooten is tied for fifth (2.4 spg). Kennedy Blair is also fourth in assists with 6.1 apg. Jones is first in the B1G in assist/turnover ratio (3.36).
Senior forward VanSlooten has stepped into the role of top scorer for the Spartans, averaging 14.4 points per game. She scored a season-high 19 against Western Michigan and snagged eight rebounds for a near double-double. She's also a nagging defender who has already accounted for 25 steals so far this season on a 2.3 per game average. Fellow Spartan Jones has also emerged as a pesky defender for Michigan State, leading the team with 34 steals total at 3.1 per game.
Redshirt-sophomore Blair is ranked fifth in the Big Ten in scoring improvement from 2024-25 to 2025-26. Last season, she averaged 3.4 ppg, while scored 13.3 so far this season for a 10.0 ppg improvement. She is dominant in the paint, leading the Spartans in rebounds, grabbing 7.1 per game.
GAMES AGAINST THE BIG TEN
Ole Miss has a 20-16 overall record against teams in the Big Ten. This is the fifth time this season the Rebels will face a fellow Power Four school this season, and the second time against a Big Ten opponent. Ole Miss first faced Wisconsin earlier this season, also in a back-to-back day competition. The Rebels bested the Badgers, 65-56, marking their first victory over a Big Ten opponent since Nov. 20, 2023, when they beat Michigan, 60-49, in the title round of the Battle4Atlantis Tournament.
By adding Michigan State to the list of Big Ten opponents Ole Miss has faced, will have played 16 of the conference's 18 members.
Ole Miss faced two new members of the conference last season, USC and UCLA, dropping both matches. The Rebels lost to the Trojans in the 2024-25 season opener at the Aflac Oui-Play in Paris, France, 68-66. Then, in the last game of the season, the Rebels fell to the Bruins in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, 76-62.
FIRST WIN IN CHEROKEE
Ole Miss claimed a competitive victory over Old Dominion, 86-57, in game one of the Cherokee Invitational in Cherokee, North Carolina.
The win signifies head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin's second time as Ole Miss' leader to guide the team to a 12-1 start to a season, making her the only Rebel coach in the 21st century to have multiple 12-1 starts to the season. She joins former Ole Miss legend Van Chancellor as the only head coaches in program history to have one or fewer losses through the first 13 games of a season.
Christeen Iwuala tallied another double-double to her career season, having a career-high 23 points and team-leading 10 rebounds. Iwuala has set, reset or tied her personal career high point total four times this season, and became the second Rebel (behind Cotie McMahon) to reach the 200-point mark this season. With her double-double, she now has six for her career, all coming this season. All of them have come in increments of two consecutive games, making this the third instance of her having back-to-back double-doubles this season.
McMahon was no slouch offensively either, tallying 19 points with seven rebounds. McMahon is one game shy of tying Shandricka Sessom's most recent record of most games to start a season with at least 10 points, as she aims to meet Sessom's feat tomorrow against Michigan State.
Latasha Lattimore once again had a solid game as a member of the starting lineup, cementing herself as a consistent third option behind McMahon and Iwuala. She contributed 15 points and four blocks, her third consecutive game with multiple blocks. She's the first Rebel since Rita Igbokwe in the 2023-24 season to record at least two blocks in back-to-back-to-back games. Another significant mark Lattimore set includes having the most blocks in a three-game stretch (13) since Domonique Banks in 2019-20 had that many in the same amount of games.
STAY CONNECTED WITH THE REBELS
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. 14/14 Ole Miss Rebels (12-1, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 8th Season at Ole Miss (137-96) • 13th Season in Career (231-159)
No. 24/23 Michigan State Spartans (10-1, 1-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Robyn Fralick • 3rd Season at MSU (54-20) • 11th Season in Career (246-96)
ON THE AIR
Television: Women's Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Shawn Crowe
Color: Jennifer George
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
SERIES HISTORY
The Rebels and Spartans are set to face off for the first time ever. It marks the fourth time this season Ole Miss has faced an opponent for the first time in its 51-year history.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Robyn Fralick is in her third season leading Michigan State's women's basketball program and 11th overall in her career. Since her arrival in East Lansing on March 31, 2023, Fralick has quickly made history. She became the sixth head coach in program history and the first to lead the Spartans to an NCAA Tournament berth in her debut season.
In her first year at the helm of the Spartans, Michigan State went 2-0 to earn the Cherokee Invitational title in 2023. The Spartans out-scored its opponents 94.0-71.0. Julia Ayrault averaged 22.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the pair of victories with Moira Joiner adding 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Joiner went 9-for-14 from beyond the arc, shooting 64.3 percent from long range. Ayrault shot 48.5 percent from the field.
The Spartans are first tied for first in the Big Ten in scoring offense with Michigan, averaging 92.5 ppg and first in scoring margin (+39.8). Michigan State is also first in 3-point field goal field percentage (.397). The Spartans stand first in assists per game, averaging 22.9 apg and second in steals per game with 14.4 spg. Individually, Rashunda Jones is second in the league in steals per game averaging 3.1 spg, while senior forward Grace VanSlooten is tied for fifth (2.4 spg). Kennedy Blair is also fourth in assists with 6.1 apg. Jones is first in the B1G in assist/turnover ratio (3.36).
Senior forward VanSlooten has stepped into the role of top scorer for the Spartans, averaging 14.4 points per game. She scored a season-high 19 against Western Michigan and snagged eight rebounds for a near double-double. She's also a nagging defender who has already accounted for 25 steals so far this season on a 2.3 per game average. Fellow Spartan Jones has also emerged as a pesky defender for Michigan State, leading the team with 34 steals total at 3.1 per game.
Redshirt-sophomore Blair is ranked fifth in the Big Ten in scoring improvement from 2024-25 to 2025-26. Last season, she averaged 3.4 ppg, while scored 13.3 so far this season for a 10.0 ppg improvement. She is dominant in the paint, leading the Spartans in rebounds, grabbing 7.1 per game.
GAMES AGAINST THE BIG TEN
Ole Miss has a 20-16 overall record against teams in the Big Ten. This is the fifth time this season the Rebels will face a fellow Power Four school this season, and the second time against a Big Ten opponent. Ole Miss first faced Wisconsin earlier this season, also in a back-to-back day competition. The Rebels bested the Badgers, 65-56, marking their first victory over a Big Ten opponent since Nov. 20, 2023, when they beat Michigan, 60-49, in the title round of the Battle4Atlantis Tournament.
By adding Michigan State to the list of Big Ten opponents Ole Miss has faced, will have played 16 of the conference's 18 members.
Ole Miss faced two new members of the conference last season, USC and UCLA, dropping both matches. The Rebels lost to the Trojans in the 2024-25 season opener at the Aflac Oui-Play in Paris, France, 68-66. Then, in the last game of the season, the Rebels fell to the Bruins in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, 76-62.
FIRST WIN IN CHEROKEE
Ole Miss claimed a competitive victory over Old Dominion, 86-57, in game one of the Cherokee Invitational in Cherokee, North Carolina.
The win signifies head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin's second time as Ole Miss' leader to guide the team to a 12-1 start to a season, making her the only Rebel coach in the 21st century to have multiple 12-1 starts to the season. She joins former Ole Miss legend Van Chancellor as the only head coaches in program history to have one or fewer losses through the first 13 games of a season.
Christeen Iwuala tallied another double-double to her career season, having a career-high 23 points and team-leading 10 rebounds. Iwuala has set, reset or tied her personal career high point total four times this season, and became the second Rebel (behind Cotie McMahon) to reach the 200-point mark this season. With her double-double, she now has six for her career, all coming this season. All of them have come in increments of two consecutive games, making this the third instance of her having back-to-back double-doubles this season.
McMahon was no slouch offensively either, tallying 19 points with seven rebounds. McMahon is one game shy of tying Shandricka Sessom's most recent record of most games to start a season with at least 10 points, as she aims to meet Sessom's feat tomorrow against Michigan State.
Latasha Lattimore once again had a solid game as a member of the starting lineup, cementing herself as a consistent third option behind McMahon and Iwuala. She contributed 15 points and four blocks, her third consecutive game with multiple blocks. She's the first Rebel since Rita Igbokwe in the 2023-24 season to record at least two blocks in back-to-back-to-back games. Another significant mark Lattimore set includes having the most blocks in a three-game stretch (13) since Domonique Banks in 2019-20 had that many in the same amount of games.
STAY CONNECTED WITH THE REBELS
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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/ Women's BasketballHIGHLIGHTS: Women's Basketball vs Michigan State (12-22-25)
Monday, December 22
PRESSER | Yolett McPhee-McCuin - Postgame vs. Michigan State (12-22-25)
Monday, December 22
PRESSER | Yollett McPhee-McCuin - Postgame vs. Old Dominion (12-21-25)
Sunday, December 21
PRESSER | Latasha Lattimore - Postgame vs. Old Dominion (12-21-25)
Sunday, December 21