Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Falls to No. 1 Texas in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

GREENVILLE, S.C. – KK Deans’ 20 points highlighted a strong fourth quarter comeback attempt for Ole Miss women’s basketball, but the Rebels fell to No. 1 Texas, 70-63, in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Greenville, S.C., on Friday.

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Ole Miss (20-10, 10-6 SEC) outscored Texas (30-2, 15-1 SEC), 23-17, in the fourth quarter to nearly cap a 15-point comeback in the period. Deans made five three pointers against the Longhorns, which ties for the fourth most in a SEC tournament game in program history. It’s also the most threes allowed by an individual athlete against Texas this season.

The Rebels outrebounded the Longhorns, 36-28, to become the fifth team this season to secure more boards against the Longhorns. Texas’ 28 rebounds are the second fewest it has had all season and the Longhorns were held to only seven from the offensive court. That’s also the second-fewest by Texas this season and is the third time it failed to get double-digit offensive rebounds in a game.

Deans joined Madison Scott and Kennedy Todd-Williams as the only active Rebels to possess over 1,600 points. She’s the 11th Rebel ever to reach that total.

Scott led the Rebels in rebounds and assists, nearly putting up a triple double. She scored 14 points, hauled in nine rebounds and dished out seven assists. Her assist total is tied for a personal season-high. Scott also made four free throws against Texas, to push her past 400 for her career. She is only the second Rebel to ever achieve this feat, the other being Armintie Price (2003-07), who had 589.

Scott kept the Rebels within striking distance for the entirety of the first quarter. She displayed her high basketball IQ by finding multiple open Rebels for three assists, while bringing in four rebounds. Deans led the team in scoring for the first quarter, where she drained her first 3-pointer of the day and added a pair of free throws. The duos efforts put the Rebels within six points of the Longhorns at the conclusion of the period.

The second quarter saw 16 personal fouls between the two teams. Ole Miss drained five free throws to Texas’ four to help keep the Rebels in range. Deans hit a second 3-pointer as Scott ended the half with a balanced stat line of seven points, six rebounds and four assists, leading the team in dishes and boards. Scott’s numbers kept the game tight after 20 minutes with a 40-33 score at halftime.

Ole Miss entered the fourth quarter facing an 11-point deficit, but Texas led by as much as 15 early in the frame. Deans ignited a spark for the Rebels after converting a 3-point play, shortly followed with a trio of triples to make it a four-point game. The Rebels went on an 18-6 run and made seven consecutive shots in that span, highlighted by Deans scoring 12 straight of those points for Ole Miss. Scott rejoined the scoring effort with a layup to extend the shooting streak.

After Ole Miss’ strong comeback attempt, Texas gained more traction in the latter half of the fourth and forced the Rebels into fouling. After making four attempts from the charity stripe, Texas came away with a 70-63 victory.

Ole Miss will now await its fate for the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, with Selection Sunday set for March 16 at 7:00 p.m. CT. The latest bracketology by ESPN had the Rebels hosting the first and second rounds as a No. 4 seed and sitting in the Spokane Region.