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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Sunday, January 4
Austin, Texas
2 PM
Ole Miss
14-3,1-1SEC
64
at
67
Texas
17-0,2-0SEC
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Ole Miss
17
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64
Texas
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67
Women’s Basketball Nearly Caps Comeback in Loss to Texas
1/4/2026 | Women's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 15/17 Ole Miss women's basketball fell to No. 2/2 Texas, 67-64, Sunday afternoon at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Despite an incredible fourth quarter turnaround which saw the Rebels (14-3, 1-1 SEC) cut a 19-point lead to as low as three, the Longhorns (17-0, 2-0 SEC) had enough juice in the tank to close out the game on top. Texas had a 15-point lead entering the final quarter of action, but a vicious effort from Cotie McMahon catapulted the Rebels to nearly completing the comeback. McMahon had 19 points, 12 of which coming in the fourth quarter alone, on top of four assists and four rebounds.
With her double-digit scoring, she has scored at least 10 points in each of Ole Miss' first 17 games this season. McMahon has now tied Nikki Byrd for the longest such streak in recent memory, who started the 2011-12 season with 17 consecutive games of double-digit points. She could surpass Byrd next game and set her sights on Bianca Thomas, who scored at least 10 points in the first 19 games in 2009-10.
Latasha Lattimore and Sira Thienou had strong outings for the Rebels throughout, picking up much of the offensive slack early on. Lattimore had 17 points, her seventh game with double-digit points in her last eight appearances. She also tacked on three blocks, marking 11 consecutive games with at least one block and her sixth of the season with at least three. The former is the longest such streak by a Rebel since Dominique Banks had a 17-game streak during the 2019-20 season.
Thienou was the catalyst behind Ole Miss' strong first quarter, which kept the Rebels in the fight. She finished the game with 14 points, four rebounds and two steals.
The Rebels hung tough early with the Longhorns thanks to their offensive rebounding and second-chance points. Thienou led the way for the Rebels in the first, scoring six points with two rebounds. Despite an efficient quarter of shooting, Ole Miss still trailed 21-17 entering the second.
Both teams struggled offensively early in the second quarter until Texas rattled off seven unanswered before the media timeout. It was this run of scoring where Texas managed to pull ahead of the Rebels for the duration of the game. The Rebels scored only four points in the quarter as Texas held a 35-21 lead going into the final half of action.
Ole Miss picked up the tempo in the third quarter as the scoring between both teams were more even matched. Early, the Longhorns would possess their largest lead of the day at 19 points. However, the Rebels outscored the Longhorns for most of the quarter until a layup with two minutes changed it. Lattimore then made a 3-pointer in the last few minutes of the quarter to continue to cut into the lead, with Denim DeShields complementing her with a deep ball of her own. However, the lead would remain steep for the Rebels, who entered the fourth behind by 15 points.
The momentum from quarter three transitioned into the fourth as the Rebels began the quarter on a 16-4 scoring run off the backs of some of the team's top two scorers, Lattimore and Thienou. Lattimore scored a pair of free throws to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the second quarter at the six-minute mark of the fourth. McMahon came alive in the fourth quarter as well, scoring eight unanswered points in less than a minute-and-a-half. In doing so, Ole Miss cut Texas' 15-point lead to three.
The Rebels continued to push back against the Longhorns behind McMahon's 12 points in the quarter, which ties herself for the most points in a single quarter by an individual Rebel this season. Despite making clutch free throws for the entire quarter, Ole Miss failed to convert on two in the waning moments of the second. Still down by three, Texas would repeat what Ole Miss did and miss its two free throws after an intentional foul with less than one second on the clock. The Rebels managed to get one last 3-pointer off, but it failed to land, marking the final score at 67-64.
Ole Miss will face the other member of the Red River Rivalry next when it travels to Norman, Oklahoma, to face No. 8/9 Oklahoma on Jan. 8. Tipoff against the Sooners is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed on SECN+.
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.
Gallery: (1-4-2026) WBB vs Texas
Despite an incredible fourth quarter turnaround which saw the Rebels (14-3, 1-1 SEC) cut a 19-point lead to as low as three, the Longhorns (17-0, 2-0 SEC) had enough juice in the tank to close out the game on top. Texas had a 15-point lead entering the final quarter of action, but a vicious effort from Cotie McMahon catapulted the Rebels to nearly completing the comeback. McMahon had 19 points, 12 of which coming in the fourth quarter alone, on top of four assists and four rebounds.
With her double-digit scoring, she has scored at least 10 points in each of Ole Miss' first 17 games this season. McMahon has now tied Nikki Byrd for the longest such streak in recent memory, who started the 2011-12 season with 17 consecutive games of double-digit points. She could surpass Byrd next game and set her sights on Bianca Thomas, who scored at least 10 points in the first 19 games in 2009-10.
Latasha Lattimore and Sira Thienou had strong outings for the Rebels throughout, picking up much of the offensive slack early on. Lattimore had 17 points, her seventh game with double-digit points in her last eight appearances. She also tacked on three blocks, marking 11 consecutive games with at least one block and her sixth of the season with at least three. The former is the longest such streak by a Rebel since Dominique Banks had a 17-game streak during the 2019-20 season.
Thienou was the catalyst behind Ole Miss' strong first quarter, which kept the Rebels in the fight. She finished the game with 14 points, four rebounds and two steals.
The Rebels hung tough early with the Longhorns thanks to their offensive rebounding and second-chance points. Thienou led the way for the Rebels in the first, scoring six points with two rebounds. Despite an efficient quarter of shooting, Ole Miss still trailed 21-17 entering the second.
Both teams struggled offensively early in the second quarter until Texas rattled off seven unanswered before the media timeout. It was this run of scoring where Texas managed to pull ahead of the Rebels for the duration of the game. The Rebels scored only four points in the quarter as Texas held a 35-21 lead going into the final half of action.
Ole Miss picked up the tempo in the third quarter as the scoring between both teams were more even matched. Early, the Longhorns would possess their largest lead of the day at 19 points. However, the Rebels outscored the Longhorns for most of the quarter until a layup with two minutes changed it. Lattimore then made a 3-pointer in the last few minutes of the quarter to continue to cut into the lead, with Denim DeShields complementing her with a deep ball of her own. However, the lead would remain steep for the Rebels, who entered the fourth behind by 15 points.
The momentum from quarter three transitioned into the fourth as the Rebels began the quarter on a 16-4 scoring run off the backs of some of the team's top two scorers, Lattimore and Thienou. Lattimore scored a pair of free throws to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the second quarter at the six-minute mark of the fourth. McMahon came alive in the fourth quarter as well, scoring eight unanswered points in less than a minute-and-a-half. In doing so, Ole Miss cut Texas' 15-point lead to three.
The Rebels continued to push back against the Longhorns behind McMahon's 12 points in the quarter, which ties herself for the most points in a single quarter by an individual Rebel this season. Despite making clutch free throws for the entire quarter, Ole Miss failed to convert on two in the waning moments of the second. Still down by three, Texas would repeat what Ole Miss did and miss its two free throws after an intentional foul with less than one second on the clock. The Rebels managed to get one last 3-pointer off, but it failed to land, marking the final score at 67-64.
Ole Miss will face the other member of the Red River Rivalry next when it travels to Norman, Oklahoma, to face No. 8/9 Oklahoma on Jan. 8. Tipoff against the Sooners is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed on SECN+.
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 Stats
UM
TX
FG%
.451
.463
3FG%
.167
.182
FT%
.800
.714
RB
30
29
TO
16
14
STL
8
6
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballPRESSER | Yolett McPhee-McCuin - Postgame at Texas (01-04-26)
Sunday, January 04
PRESSER: Cotie McMahon & Debreasha Powe (Georgia Postgame)
Thursday, January 01
HIGHLIGHTS: Women's Basketball vs. Georgia (1/1/26)
Thursday, January 01
PRESSER: Yolett McPhee-McCuin (Georgia Postgame)
Thursday, January 01