On to the Semis! Ole Miss ‘dictates and disrupts’ Vanderbilt 89-78 in SEC Tournament Quarterfinal matchup

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Ole Miss women’s basketball defeated No. 2-seed Vanderbilt, 89-78, Friday to advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. Few picked Ole Miss to win, but with outstanding performances from Latasha Lattimore and Cotie McMahon, the Rebels got the job done.

Coach Yo and @OleMissWBB are headed to the semis! pic.twitter.com/vKVd20SQdo

— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) March 7, 2026

Ole Miss took a commanding 49-17 lead into halftime. They controlled all aspects of the game to create the 32-point lead at half. However, the game was not over as the Commodores would fight until the end. Vanderbilt cut the lead to 11 late in the fourth quarter; however, McMahon and Lattimore iced them out, leading to the Rebels’ advancing to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.

Outstanding Performances

• Cotie McMahon recorded 27 points, seven assists, and four rebounds.
• Latasha Lattimore tallied 28 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
• Tianna Thompson shined with 16 points, six rebounds, and two assists.

Coach Yo and @OleMissWBB are headed to the semis! pic.twitter.com/vKVd20SQdo

— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) March 7, 2026

Here is the breakdown of tonight’s action.

First Quarter

Jayla Murray scored the Rebels’ first bucket. Vanderbilt didn’t score their first two points until under eight minutes in the game.

With five minutes left, Ole Miss led 11-2, and they were in complete control. Ole Miss was proving how badly they wanted a win. The Rebels went on a 7-0 run over the course of three minutes; Vanderbilt had not scored in almost five minutes, and they were 0/9 from the field at that point in the opening quarter.

Ole Miss continued its run with a Tianna Thompson three-pointer; she was in double digits early with 10 points in the first. The Rebels scored 16 straight unanswered points over a five-minute period, while Vanderbilt did not score for seven minutes.

Ole Miss ended the quarter on a 19-4 run with a lead of 25-6 headed into the second. This was Vanderbilt’s worst first quarter of the season.

Second Quarter

Ava Black of Vanderbilt struck first this quarter with a layup and drew a foul, but she missed the free throw. Justine Pissot nailed a three-pointer to get the Commodores into double digits, but McMahon responded with a three-pointer of her own. Ole Miss was up 30-11 after a Lattimore basket with seven minutes remaining.

This was the story so far: Vanderbilt would get a couple of jabs, but the Rebels managed to answer quickly.

After a Tianna Thompson layup, Vanderbilt had to call a timeout. Lattimore was up to eleven points, while Thompson was up to 12 already. Ole Miss was on a 10-0 run over the course of two minutes, and the Rebels’ lead was 35-11 with 6:03 left in the second.

Cotie McMahon joined the double-digit scoring club for the Rebels with 10 after she made two of her three free throw attempts after being fouled while shooting a three-pointer.

Ole Miss led 47-17 headed into halftime.

Third Quarter

Vanderbilt scored first to open up the second half, but Lattimore answered with a jumper to begin the quarter.

Ole Miss suffered a scoring drought of over two minutes after turning the ball over four times in that time frame. This allowed Vanderbilt to go on a 7-0 run and forced Ole Miss to call a timeout with 5:49 remaining in the third. It seemed the Rebels were comfortable with a big lead — which a team cannot do against Vanderbilt.

McMahon ended the scoring drought for the Rebels and got a steal on the other end. Another trip after, she nailed a corner three-pointer.

Lattimore hit a tough and-1 layup, giving her 20 points at that point.

Vanderbilt put up a fight in the third quarter, outscoring the Rebels, 24-16. Nine Rebel turnovers in the third hurt Ole Miss; however, the Rebs still led, 65-41, with one quarter remaining.

Fourth Quarter

For the third straight quarter, Vanderbilt scored to open the quarter. However, Commodores’ head coach Shea Ralph was ejected after a disagreement with a referee, and Ole Miss capitalized with three made free throws from McMahon, followed by an Iwuala second-chance layup.

Vanderbilt was scrapping to pull off the epic comeback, going on a 13-0 run after a three-pointer from this year’s SEC Player of the Year, Mikayla Blakes. Turnovers and careless fouls had caused the Ole Miss lead to diminish.

Denim DeShields scored a three-pointer for the Rebels, but Vandy’s Sacha Washington scored a layup. Vanderbilt had cut Ole Miss’ lead to 14 points as the Rebels were up 74-60 with 4:58 remaining in the contest.

McMahon scored a layup to push the lead back out to 16 after the Commodores’ timeout, but another foul by Ole Miss would allow Vanderbilt to keep it a 14-point game with 4:04 left to play.

With 3:17 left, Aubrey Galvan made a layup and was fouled, hitting her free throw afterward. That made it an eleven-point game in the fourth — after the Rebels had led by 32 at the half.

DeShields drove and scored, Galvin answered, followed by a Lattimore score. Galvin missed a three-pointer, and McMahon rebounded and drove to the other end and was fouled on a layup. She sank both free-throws, and Ole Miss had pushed the lead back to 15.

A few more back-and-forth buckets were not enough for Vanderbilt to rally back, and Ole Miss knocked off the Commodores, 89-78.

What’s Next?

Ole Miss will play the winner of Texas vs Alabama in the Semifinals on Friday at 5 p.m. CT. Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for all. your Rebels sports news!