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Cotie McMahon’s 33-Point Night Fuels Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Road Win at Missouri, 82-61

Cotie McMahon’s 33-Point Night Fuels Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Road Win at Missouri, 82-61

COLUMBIA, Mo.(Release) Cotie McMahon’s heroics propelled No. 18/18 Ole Miss women’s basketball to a dominant 82-61 victory over Missouri Thursday evening in Mizzou Arena.

McMahon had by far her most complete performance for the Rebels (17-4, 4-2 SEC), scoring a 33-point double-double, which ties her career high in points. She’s the first Rebel to score 30 points this season, the first Rebel since Madison Scott to do so, and her point total is the most by a Rebel since Marquesha Davis had the same amount against Florida on March 8, 2024. She tied her season best in rebounds with 12, while also running the point and dropping five dimes.

On the season, McMahon has 11 games north of 20 points. Most of her offensive success came in the second half, scoring 24 of her points in quarters three and four. She went 9-for-13 from the field in the second half.

As a team, Ole Miss held Missouri (13-9, 1-6 SEC) to 34.4 percent from the floor and allowed only four threes on 20 attempts. The Tigers entered the game averaging nearly 40 percent from long range while making nine per game.

Defensively, Latasha Lattimore and Sira Thienou kept one of the best shooting teams in the country at bay. Lattimore played vigorous defense the entire evening, blocking four shots. She’s had eight games this season with at least three blocks. Last time a Rebel had that many games with such a feat was Rita Igbokwe, who accomplished the feat in the 2022-23 season.

Meanwhile, Thienou paced the team with four steals. One of Ole Miss’ best thieves, Thienou has had multiple steals in 12 games this season.

Both players scored north of 10 points, with Thienou’s 17-point and 10-rebound performance marking her first career double-double. Of the four times McMahon has secured a double-double this season, another Rebel has as well (the others being Christeen Iwuala twice and Lattimore).

Debreasha Powe was Ole Miss’ engine to begin the contest, scoring five of the first seven points for the Rebel. Before the media timeout, Missouri was 2-for-9 from the floor with only four points. However, that would flip in the later portion of the first as Missouri strung a few field goals together. McMahon and Iwuala combated that effort by scoring five and three, respectively, allowing the Rebels to maintain a 13-12 lead entering the second.

McMahon got the second started quickly, hauling in an offensive board and converting a tip-in layup. Later, Lattimore’s defensive prowess shined as she blocked back-to-back Missouri field goal attempts, her second and third of the quarter alone. After another small streak of scoring from Missouri, Ole Miss retaliated behind Lattimore’s defense by scoring six unanswered points over the course of over three minutes. In that time, the Rebels went 6-for-8 from the floor, including an impressive offensive rebound and layup from Lattimore. Ole Miss concluded the half making its last four shots to improve its lead to 29-23.

Missouri began the second half with momentum, but Tianna Thompson responded with a 3-pointer. After that bucket, McMahon gained the right traction. She brought in three quick rebounds and a fastbreak layup to achieve her double-double before the media timeout. Then, she added a 3-pointer and another layup afterward to improve Ole Miss’ lead to double digits, forcing a Missouri timeout. McMahon had 10 points in the third quarter alone, which equaled the lead Ole Miss had entering the fourth, on top 49-39.

After defense highlighted the first three quarters of the game, offense ignited on both sides to start the fourth. McMahon and Thienou went blow-for-blow with Missouri’s Grace Slaughter, with both teams scoring a pair of threes in the first four minutes of the period. After missing the first shot of the quarter, Ole Miss went on to make all 11 of its next field goal attempts to close the game. Behind the team’s 91.7 percent shooting quarter, McMahon had 14 points in the fourth, while Thienou had 13, both of which are individual season-highs among all Rebels this year. Despite Missouri’s strong push, Ole Miss pulled away for an 82-61 victory.

Up next, Ole Miss is back in Oxford to face No. 17/17 Tennessee. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU.

Evelyn Van Pelt

Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception. Email Evie at: Evie@TheRebelWalk.com

About The Author

Evelyn Van Pelt

Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception. Email Evie at: Evie@TheRebelWalk.com

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