Ole Miss women’s basketball completes largest comeback in program history, Rebels defeat Notre Dame 69-62

OXFORD, Miss. — No. 13 Ole Miss women’s basketball team took down No. 18 Notre Dame, 69-62, in front of a raucous crowd at the SJB Pavilion Thursday night. The Rebels (8-0) made history, coming back from down 19 points, marking the largest comeback win in program history.

“We are a resilient group and we never count ourselves out,” head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said after the game.

Here’s a look at all the action from the game. (Click HERE for box score.)

First Quarter

Notre Dame would get out to an early 6-0 run, led by the country’s second-leading scorer Hannah Hidalgo. The impact from Hidalgo was felt on both ends, as she would create two steals against the Ole Miss offense, a stat she leads the country in.

Defensive problems also became evident in early possessions for Ole Miss, as Notre Dame would start the game 6 of 7 from the field.  The scoring impact of Cotie McMahon helped Ole Miss stay competitive early, as she came out of the gate with five points, and Ole Miss rallied behind her early.  Hidalgo would continue to be a thorn in the side of Ole Miss, creating shots with ease. She would finish the quarter with 14 points. Notre Dame would end the first quarter on a 14-0 run, controlling every aspect of the game. The Fighting Irish finished the quarter 11-of-15 from the field, and led 26-14 after one.

Second Quarter

The second quarter started much the same as the first for Ole Miss, with Notre Dame continuing to attack the paint and forcing many problems for the Ole Miss offense. The Rebels trailed 35-17 with 4:22 left, but continued fighting and chipping away at the Notre Dame lead, in big part due to the aggression of sophomore Sira Thienou who would go on a quick 5-0 run.

Ole Miss would find some life inside the perimeter and on the defensive end to end the quarter, forcing Notre Dame to go without a bucket for over two minutes, cutting the deficit down to six.

Notre Dame was limited to 23% shooting in the second quarter; however, the Fighting Irish did not surrender the lead to Ole Miss, despite the second quarter surge from Ole Miss. The Rebels outscored Notre Dame, 15-11, in the second, but went into halftime down 37-29.

Third Quarter

McMahon would continue to impact the game as she started the second half by dropping a three. Debreasha Powe would find her first bucket of the game in the third quarter, as Ole Miss cut the Notre Dame deficit to five points.

Christeen Iwuala would score two important buckets in the paint and ignite the Ole Miss crowd, and the pace of the game would move towards Ole Miss after huge stops on defense and resiliency on the offensive boards.

At one point around the four-minute mark, after continued paint attack from Ole Miss, McMahon was seen in much pain, holding her hamstring. But the transfer forward would soon spark another big moment for Ole Miss.

After hobbling to the free throw line, McMahon missed both free throws. But Ole Miss grabbed the offensive rebound and found McMahon who would drive and score a difficult layup on two defenders.

Ole Miss continued to stay hot on the offensive end during this run, after multiple stops on the defensive end, and guard Denim DeShields hit a huge shot from behind the arc, to cut the Notre Dame lead to 47-44.

At the one minute mark, Notre Dame had gone two minutes without scoring, and the engine began to run for the Rebels. Powe would hit an enormous three to give Ole Miss its first lead of the game. Another missed shot from the Fighting Irish would lead to a McMahon layup, as Ole Miss would surge back from down 19 points to lead Notre Dame 50-49 going into the fourth quarter.

The Ole Miss defense held Hidalgo to just four points in the third quarter, while McMahon paced the Rebels with 16 points.

Fourth Quarter

Notre Dame would fight back, as they were not going to go down easily. A three by Vanessa de Jesus and a tough layup from Malaya Cowles would give Notre Dame the lead at 54-52 after the first possession.

Empty possessions by both teams would call for a big-time player to make a big-time play–and that’s exactly what Iwuala produced for Ole Miss. An inbound pass to the forward led to an and-one bucket and result and a three-point play for Ole Miss that allowed the Rebels to regain the lead.

Defense would takeover for both teams late in the game, as each went more than two minutes without a score. But, once again, Cotie McMahon would deliver for Ole Miss. She hit a big bucket under the rim for an and-one opportunity. She missed the free throw,  but had given Ole Miss a 59-56 lead with two minutes left to play.

Ole Miss would force Notre Dame to go without a bucket for nearly four minutes as the Rebels took their biggest lead of the game at 61-56. A concerted effort for offensive rebounds by the entire team would help lead to Latasha Lattimore at the charity stripe. She hit two huge free throws to give Ole Miss a 63-56 lead.

Big stops on defense for Ole Miss would help the Rebels complete the comeback after success at the charity stripe, and Ole Miss finished with a big 69-62 victory.

The 28 points by Hidalgo would not be enough, and Ole Miss completed the biggest comeback in program history.

In a highly charged game against an incredibly talented opponent, Ole Miss showcased its will to win and confidence to compete, no matter what the score is.

GOOD MORNING! https://t.co/f9GTBYgQ9l

— Coach Yo (@YolettMcCuin) December 5, 2025

Cotie McMahon led the Rebels with 22 points, while Christeen Iwuala notched 18 and Debreasha Powe finished with nine.

For Notre Dame, Hidalgo scored 28 points while Gisela Sanchez added nine.

Post game report 📍 @olemisswbb completes the largest comeback in program history defeating Notre Dame 69-62. @TheDaylanShow shares his breakdown pic.twitter.com/HOM6Ay2sVb

— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) December 5, 2025

Next Up:

Up next, the Rebels head to St. Joseph, Missouri, to face Kansas State in the Bill Snyder Classic on Dec. 7. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with tipoff set for 2 p.m. CT.