Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Set for SEC Quarterfinal Friday against Florida

GREENVILLE, S.C. — (Release) Hitting the court for the first time Friday from Bon Secours Wellnes Arena in its SEC Tournament opener, Ole Miss faces Florida in the quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons for its third meeting of the season with a semifinal appearance on the line. Game 10 of the tournament is set to tip at approximately 7:00 p.m. CT, airing on SEC Network.

TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (22-7, 12-4 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 6th Season at Ole Miss (101-82) • 11th Season in Career (195-145)

Florida Gators (16-14, 5-11 SEC)
Head Coach: Kelly Rae Finley • 3rd Season at Florida (56-40) • 3rd Season in Career (56-40)

ON THE AIR
TV: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Courtney Lyle
Analyst: Carolyn Peck
Sideline: Brooke Weisbrod

SERIES NOTES

REBELS IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT
Since the inception of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament in 1980, Ole Miss owns a record of 29-42. Ole Miss has reached 11 semifinal and two final games in the history of the tournament.

For the fourth straight season, Ole Miss makes an appearance in the quarterfinals and is in search of its third consecutive trip to the semifinals. The Rebels last reached the finals of the SEC Tournament in 1983 in Knoxville.

In tournament games in Greenville, the Rebels are 3-6 earning wins in the quarterfinals in 2023 and 2021.

OLE MISS VS. FLORIDA
Already boasting two wins over the Gators this season, the series between Florida and the Rebels sits even at 24 all. In both wins this season, the defeated the Gators by an average of 10.5 points.

Ole Miss has claimed the last five meetings against the Gators dating back to 2022 and meet in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals for the second time in three years.

Against the Gators at the SEC Tournament, Ole Miss leads 2-1. Two years ago against Florida in Nashville, Ole Miss set a program SEC Tournament record with 11 rejections against the Gators.

SCOUTING THE GATORS
Despite an 11th place finish in SEC Play and a three-game skid to cap off the regular season, the Gators picked up gritty wins against Missouri and Vanderbilt to make it to the semifinals.

Scoring at an efficient pace, the Gators rank 5th in the SEC for points per game at 75.6 with an average of 28.5 points coming from the bench, placing them as the second most in the conference.

Earning sixth woman of the year honors, Leilani Correa proves to be an offensive powerhouse for the Gators as she leads the SEC in scoring with 517 points on the season. Aliyah Matharu has also been a constant for the Gators, with an average of 17.8 points a game which ranks 4th in the SEC.

TEAM NOTES

LAST TIME OUT
Defense translates to offense for Ole Miss, proving its effectiveness in an 87-43 win over Arkansas from the SJB Pavilion to wrap up the regular season on Sunday.

In highlighting Snudda Collins, Marquesha Davis, Elauna Eaton, Rita Igbokwe and Madison Scott for senior day, the Rebels rolled to its sixth win in-a-row and 12th in the SEC.

Snudda Collins came out of the gate hot, with 12 of her game leading 18 points within the first 10 minutes. Flirting with a triple-double, Madison Scott came just shy and finished with her 27th career double-double off of 14 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

The 44-point win over the Razorbacks was the largest in the series history as Ole Miss held its third-opponent this past week and 11th of the season under 50 points.

HISTORY RE-WRITTEN
A win on Sunday over Arkansas hit yet another historic marker for the Rebels, reaching a program best 12 wins in SEC play.

The Rebels passed the previous record of 11 set in 1991-92 and 2022-23.

GOING SEC STREAKING
Wrapping up the regular season on a six game winning streak, the Rebels tied the third-best mark in consecutive conference victories.

The 1991-92 Rebels own the longest streak, winning 11 games in-a-row to finish 11-0 in SEC play.

FINISHING TOWARD THE TOP
By locking up a third-place finish in the SEC, its now the Rebels best finish in conference action since Ole Miss finished 1st in 1991-92.

12 wins for Ole Miss in conference play also set a new program best.

The past three seasons, Ole Miss has finished higher than its projection in the both the SEC Preseason Media and Coaches polls.

THE ROAD TO 100
Reaching 100 wins at the helm of the Rebels, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin hit another milestone this season in the victory over Kentucky.

McPhee-McCuin became the second coach in Ole Miss women’s basketball history to reach the milestone, joining the legendary Van Chancellor who tallied 439 wins during his historic tenure in Oxford.

HARD WORK PAYING OFF
For the first time in both of their careers, Marquesha Davis and Madison Scott earned First Team All-SEC accolades to become the 16th and 17th Rebels to earn a spot on the first team and became the lone duo to do so since 1989.

Not only did Scott earn the First Team nod, she was also named to the All-Defensive team for the second season in a row.

DEFENSE GETS DUBS
Locking down Arkansas, Kentucky and Missouri and holding each to under 50 points, Ole Miss held even more opponents to under 50 points for the fourth time this season.

Ole Miss has now held 32 SEC opponents to under 50 points in a game throughout program history, with 10 of those games coming under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin.

NO THREE’S HERE
The motto of ‘dictate and disrupt’ from the Rebels causes havoc on other opponents offenses, and Ole Miss once again proved its power over Missouri, holding the Tigers scoreless from beyond the arc.

Since the 2011-12 season, Ole Miss is the only team to hold Missouri scoreless from three. Not only did the Rebels accomplish the feat this season, but did the exact same thing against the Tigers in 2022, holding Missouri 0-for-7 from deep.

KEEP SHINING QUE
Hard work from Marquesha Davis has been recognized throughout the state of Mississippi, with Davis being named as one of three finalists for the Gillom Trophy.

In honor of Rebel great, Peggie Gillom, the trophy is awarded each year to the top collegiate women’s basketball player in the state of Mississippi. Ole Miss has won the last three, with Shakira Austin claiming back-to-back trophies in 2021-22 and Angel Baker in 2023.

THREE TIMES AS NICE
Reaching 20 wins with its victory over Missouri, Ole Miss has hit the mark for the third straight season and for the 21st time in program history.

Not only did the Rebels reach 20 wins, they also hit 10 wins in SEC play for the third year in a row for the first time in program history.

REJECTIONS JUST MEAN MORE 
Already touted as one of the best defensive teams in the SEC, Ole Miss has had a remarkable stretch around the rim the past few seasons as well as this year with a total of 160 blocks and counting.

The 177 rejections to break the single-season program record, make Ole Miss one of four programs in the SEC to have 150 blocks or more the past two seasons.

GOING MADi
When a shot from Madison Scott goes up in the air, there is a high probability that it’s going in. The senior currently ranks second for the Rebels in field goal percentage with 150 or more attempts at 49.4%.

If the trend continues for Scott, she could become the second Rebel in Ole Miss women’s basketball history to lead the team in field goal percentage for four seasons in a row.

HELP A FRIEND OUT
We all know that sharing is caring, and against Kentucky the Rebels dished out an SEC high 21 assists, with Madison Scott with a game-high six dimes.

The Rebels have dished out 10 or more assists in 11 SEC games to date this season.

STAYING ON BRAND
Holding Georgia to a mere three points in the second quarter in Oxford and 15 points in the half, the Rebels stuck to their roots as a defensive brand of basketball.

The 15 points in half tied the fewest allowed against an SEC team since 2015-16.

CARDIAC REBS
Forcing overtime for the second game in-a-row against Mississippi State, Ole Miss found itself playing in extra time in back-to-back games for the first time in program history.

Not only did the Rebels force extra time, but the two wins are Ole Miss first back-to-back overtime wins in school history.

Ole Miss is now 25-26 in overtime games and 15-7 against opponents when at home.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
A win against Georgia provided Ole Miss with its 10th victory of the season at home. The Rebels had not won 10 or more games at home for three seasons in a row since the 2006-09 campaigns.

Ole Miss now has 26 seasons with 10 or more wins at home.

WHEN IN DOUBT, MADI’S GOT IT COVERED
Down by eight with five minutes to play against Mississippi State, Madison Scott scored nine points in the fourth quarter and hit a last second layup for Ole Miss to send the game to overtime against the Bulldogs.

Scott’s efforts against Mississippi State and Florida earned her SEC Co-Player of the Week honors for the second time this season and the second time in her career after averaging 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds on the week.

With the honor, Scott is the first Rebel to earn multiple SEC Player of the Week honors since Armintie Price during the 2006-07 campaign.

THREE-HEADED MONSTER
The trio of Marquesha Davis, Madison Scott and Kennedy Todd-Williams, popped off against Florida and Mississippi State with the three combining for 60.0 points per game against Florida and Mississippi State.

Through Ole Miss’ six game winning streak, the three are averaging 45.5 points per game for the Rebels, with Scott leading the way at 17.2 points per game.

STEPPING IT UP
Shooting at an efficient 10-of-14 from the floor in Gainesville, Madison Scott notched a new career-high with 27 points. Scott also grabbed 12 rebounds for her 26th career double-double.

Scott’s 27 points tied the most by a Rebel in a single game since Shakira Austin also scored 27 points against Florida in the 2022 SEC Tournament.

DIRTY GLASS? WE’LL CLEAN IT
The Rebels could not be stopped off the boards against Arkansas, out-rebounding the Razorbacks, 58 to 28 for a total margin of +30.

The margin is the fifth time Ole Miss has out-rebounded an SEC opponent by 20 or more rebounds since 2000 and the highest mark in the 21st century.

WE LOVE FREE BASKETBALL
Forcing overtime on the road at Florida and going on a tear in the final five minutes to win by 10, Ole Miss picked up its largest overtime victory since taking down Central Michigan in Oxford in 2007. It was also Ole Miss’ largest road overtime win since defeating Arkansas in Fayetteville in 2007.

SNUDDA WITH THE SPLASH
Ole Miss’ lone Mississippian in Snudda Collins continues to make an impact in her fourth year as a Rebel, with the Brookhaven, native draining her 165th career three against Texas A&M to move into the top-five in program history. With 175 made triples, she is eight away from moving to the top-four.

Collins already ranks fourth overall in three’s attempted at Ole Miss with a total of 572 triples attempted.

KEEP THE GLASS CLEAN
Ranking in the top half of the SEC in rebounds per game at No. 5 with an average of 42.0 per game, Ole Miss is 22-1 this season when out-rebounding its opponents.

This year, Ole Miss has collected four games with 50 plus rebounds and 18 with 40 or more. The Rebels snagged a season-high 58 rebounds against Arkansas.

EIGHT IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Finishing at12-4 in conference play, Ole Miss has reached at least eight wins in SEC play for the third season in a row and hit 10 for the third consecutive season as well.

The 2021-22 Rebels won 10 and the 2022-23 team won 11 games in SEC play. Reaching the 10 win milestone is the first time in program history that Ole Miss has won 10 SEC games three years in a row for the first time in program history.

THRIVING AT THE LINE
As one of the nation’s top teams at reaching the free throw line, the Rebels excelled from the charity stripe against Tennessee and Vanderbilt. Ole Miss currently ranks 11th nationally and second in the SEC, averaging 22.3 trips to the line per game.

Against Tennessee, at Vanderbilt and versus Arkansas, the Rebels shot a season-high 83.3% from the stripe. Against the Lady Vols, Ole Miss went 10-of-12, at Vanderbilt shot 20-of-24 and went 15-of-18 against Arkansas.

QUEEN QUE
For the first time in her career, Marquesha Davis tallied three straight 20-point outings with 23 points against Florida, another 23 against Tennessee and a season-high 25 points at Vanderbilt.

She was first Rebel since Shakira Austin in 2021 to tally 20-point performances in three games in a row.

Davis has notched six 20-point games this season and nine total in her career, with all nine coming during her time as a Rebel.

WE SEE YOU RICH
Coming off the bench against Tennessee, Kharyssa Richardson was a key component of Ole Miss’ win with 21 points in her 18 minutes of action.

Shooting 9-of-10 from the floor, Richardson’s 21 points set a new career-high and tied the best field goal percentage by a Rebel this season with 10 or more attempts.

In her first season as a Rebel, Richardson is averaging 6.0 points per outing along with 3.2 rebounds per game.

HEATING UP
For the first time in over two seasons, Ole Miss’ offense hit a high stride in conference play in scoring 80 plus points in two consecutive games.

Dropping 81 points against Florida and then 80 against Tennessee marked the first time Ole Miss achieved the feat since scoring 80 plus points from Jan. 13-20, 2022 against Alabama, Mississippi State and Texas A&M.

Scoring 87 points against Arkansas was the most against an SEC opponent since dropping 88 on Florida in 2013.

This season, Ole Miss has reached the 80-point mark in six games.

SHOOTING IT LIGHTS OUT
For the first time since 2010, the Rebels shot over 50% in back-to-back SEC contests with a high clip against both Georgia and Florida in January.

Against the Bulldogs, Ole Miss shot 51.7% from the field and followed that up with a 50.8% performance against Florida.

HOTTY (KENNEDY) TODDY
Entering SEC play, Kennedy Todd-Williams picked it up in her first season with the Rebels, reaching double-figures in scoring in 11 out of 16 conference games.

Against Florida in Oxford, Todd-Williams notched her second-consecutive game with at least five points, five rebounds and five assists and boasts seven 5/5/5 games in her career.

EXPERIENCE THROUGH AND THROUGH
Seven Rebels boast over 100 games played throughout their collegiate careers, with experience running deep through the roster.

Ole Miss is the only school in the SEC to have seven players appear in 100 plus collegiate games.

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME
Smashing the previous Ole Miss women’s basketball attendance record of 8,958 with 9,074 fans attended Ole Miss’s match-up at the SJB Pavilion against LSU.

The rise has proven the growth of women’s basketball in Oxford, with the crowd beating the previous attendance record against an SEC opponent as well of 6,563 against No. 1 South Carolina last season.

IT’S ALWAYS A PARTY
Dictating and disrupting opposing teams never stops for Ole Miss as the Rebels threw a block party at Coleman Coliseum against Alabama with 12 blocks as a team.

Six Rebels combined for 12 rejections, with Rita Igbokwe leading the way with five. The 12 blocks set an Ole Miss record for the most against a team on the road.

COME AT HER
At 6-4, Rita Igbokwe has remained one of the nation’s best defenders throughout her five years of collegiate play. After setting block records at Pitt, Igbokwe remains just as record breaking as a Rebel.

At UAPB, Igbokwe snagged a season-high 13 rebounds while also swatting a career-high eight rejections against the Golden Lions.

The eight blocks are the second most by any SEC player this season, third most in a single-game this season in Division I women’s basketball, and rank second all-time in a game at Ole Miss.

Igbokwe ranks sixth in the SEC averaging 1.6 rejections per game.

SHUTTING DOWN SHOOTERS
By dictating and disrupting, Ole Miss has held 18 of its opponents to under 40% shooting from the field.

The Rebels have also held six of its opponents ot its lowest single-game point total of the season.

DEFENSE TRAVELS
Once again, Ole Miss made sure to pack its defense for its trip to Mobile and held the Jaguars to a season-low 41 points and shortly followed up holding Alcorn State to 37 points. This is the sixth time under McPhee-McCuin that her team has kept its opponent under the 40-point threshold.

This season Ole Miss has held 25 out of its 29 opponents to under its scoring average when they have faced off against the Rebels.

BOXING OUT
So far this season, Ole Miss has outrebounded four opponents with a margin of 20 or more. In the McPhee-McCuin era, the Rebels have held a margin of 20+ against 14 opponents.

The six years prior to McPhee-McCuin arriving in Oxford, the Rebels only had a 20+ margin three times.

BLOCK TO THE TOP 
Swatting 14 shots against MVSU, Ole Miss set a new single-game program record against the Devilletes.

The 14 blocks also marked a new SJB Pavilion record, shattering the previous of nine.

Ole Miss’ massive performance with 14 rejections are the third most in Division I women’s basketball this season.

The Rebels have had six games in the McPhee-McCuin era with double-figure blocks.

Nationally, Ole Miss ranks third overall with an average of 6.1 rejections per game and second in the SEC.

SHE’S A FRESHMAN!
Against Louisville, freshman Zakiya Stephenson sure made her presence known with a career-high six assists and three steals against the Cardinals.

Stephenson is the first Rebel since 2019-20 to dish out five or more assists in multiple games.

POINTS ARE HARD TO STEAL FROM US
Out of 29 games this season, Ole Miss has kept 11 of its opponents under the 50-point threshold for the single-season record.

Twice this season the Rebels have held three straight opponents under 50 points and the third time under McPhee-McCuin. The 2021-22 Rebels and the 1990-91 teams are the only others that have held its opponents to the mark.

BATTLE. WON.
In her home country of the Bahamas, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin had herself quite the homecoming with Ole Miss defeating Howard,

Arizona and Michigan to claim the 2023 Bad Boy Mowers Battle4Atlantis Championship.

In the championship game against Michigan, Ole Miss shut down the Wolverine offense and came together as a team to win, 60-49.

Off the bench, Marija Avlijas led the Rebels in scoring with a career-high 11 points. Madison Scott joined her in double-figures with 10 points. 10 Rebels made their way into the scoring column, with 12 hitting the court for Ole Miss.

The title is the second tournament win under McPhee-McCuin after winning the 2021 Raising the

B.A.R. Invitational Powered by Cal in Berkeley.

WE LOVE NO. 1
Despite leaving the islands with a trophy, Ole Miss lost starting point guard KK Deans for the season.

After suffering a non-contact knee injury in the opening minutes against Michigan, Deans will undergo season ending surgery.

The graduate transfer had been averaging 9.3 points and led the Rebels with 3.8 assists per game. Deans reached double-figure scoring in three games, including a season-high 16 points against Temple.

According to ESPN, Deans was rated as one of ESPN’s Top-15 available transfers. Through 114 career appearances, the Greensboro, N.C., native had been averaging 11.6 points per game and accumulated 365 assists.

MVP! MVP! MVP!
Showing up and showing out in the Bahamas, Madison Scott was dominant throughout all three games at the Battle4Atlantis, averaging 13.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

Her stellar performance earned the senior the tournament’s most valuable player and all tournament team honors. In the opener against Howard, Scott dropped a career-high tying 21 points and was electric off the glass with a season-high 14 rebounds against the Bison.

The SEC recognized Scott’s efforts as well, with her earning SEC Co-Athlete of the Week Honors. The accolade was the first SEC Athlete of the Week honors for Ole Miss since Angel Baker earned the award in December of 2021 and the first of Scott’s career.

MILESTONE WATCH

SNUDDA COLLINS

• 175 career made three’s – No. 5 all-time in Ole Miss history.

• 572 attempted three’s – fourth all-time at Ole Miss.

• 936 – 64 points away from reaching 1,000 career.

MARQUESHA DAVIS

• 960 career points – 40 points away from hitting 1,000 in her career.

RITA IGBOKWE

• 257 career blocks.

• 100 blocks at Ole Miss – 16 from top-five in program history

• 51 blocks this season – nine from top-four in a single-season at Ole Miss.

MADISON SCOTT

• 1266 career-points became the 29th player to score 1,000 points at Ole Miss, ranks No. 19 in 1,000 points or more scored at Ole Miss.

• 74 career games in double-digit scoring –  No. 8 at Ole Miss.

• 27 career double-doubles – currently sits tied for No. 7 at Ole Miss.

• 324 career free-throws made – 10 away from top-five at Ole Miss.

• 97 assists this season -three away from first 100 assist season in career.

• 103 career blocks – 11 away from top-five at Ole Miss.

KENNEDY TODD-WILLIAMS

• 1212 career-points – 35th 1,000 career-point scorer at Ole Miss.

• 66 assists this season – 6 away from a personal career single-season best.