SPOKANE, Wash. – Coming off a big win over No. 14 Baylor on its home court, Ole Miss women's basketball is set for its second Sweet 16 matchup in three years with a matchup against No. 1 UCLA on Friday, March 28. Tip off from Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena is slated for 9:00 p.m. CT, airing on ESPN.
TEAM FACTS
No. 25/25 Ole Miss Rebels (22-10, 10-6 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 7th Season at Ole Miss (125-94) • 12th Season in Career (219-157)
No. 1/1 UCLA Bruins (32-2, 16-2 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Cori Close • 14th Season at Baylor (319-142) • 14th Season in Career (319-142)
ON THE AIR
Television: ESPN
Play-by-Play: Pam Ward
Color: Stephanie White
Reporter: Holly Rowe
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
REBELS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Appearing in its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, Ole Miss reaches the big dance for the fourth straight season for the first time since 1989 through 1992.
The Rebels have made it past the first weekend of the tournament in over half of their appearances, making 12 Sweet Sixteens before moving on to five Elite Eights.
The trek to Waco was Ole Miss' second NCAA Tournament visit to Baylor, playing against South Dakota in the 2022 First Round. The Rebels have never traveled to Spokane for a postseason game.
AS A NO. 5 SEED
The Rebels are seeded at No. 5 for the third time in school history and the first time since 1994. As a five, Ole Miss is 5-2 overall and advanced to the Sweet 16 during the 1989-90 season as a five seed.
TOURNEY TEAM
In her seven years at the helm, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has taken the program to new heights, as Ole Miss has found itself among the best of the best in the conference. Including the two newest additions to the league, Ole Miss is one of only six teams in the SEC that has advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of the last four years, along with good company in LSU, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
MOVIN' ON
Following a dominant 83-65 victory over 12th-seeded Ball State in the First Round and a 69-63 win against 5th-seeded Baylor, Ole Miss moves on to the sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons under Coach Yo. The Rebels are searching for their first Elite Eight appearance since 2007.
OLE MISS VS. UCLA
Ole Miss continues its quest for a national title against No. 1 UCLA in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. The Rebels and Bruins are set to share the court for the first time ever.
This is the fourth time this season that Ole Miss has faced an opponent for the first time in its 50-year history. The other instances include going against USC at the Aflac Oui-Play, facing Boston College at the Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship and defeating Ball State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA is a newcomer to the Big Ten, after having previously played in the Pac 12. The Bruins are coming off its first conference championship as a member of the Big Ten, entering Friday's game with a 32-2 record. UCLA is the second conference champion from this season that Ole Miss will face in the tournament, the other being the MAC champions, Ball State.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
Cori Close is in her 14th season guiding UCLA's women's basketball program. She's led the Bruins to over 300 wins in her tenure, and was named the 2025 USBWA Coach of the Year. UCLA has reached the past three Sweet 16's and has made it that far seven times under Close, while reaching the Elite Eight in 2017-18.
On the court, Lauren Betts leads the Bruins and is considered a contender for the national player of the year. Standing a 6-foot-7, Betts is averaging a resounding 19.8 points per game and adding nearly 10 rebounds.
Betts is ranked top 10 nationally in blocks per game and field goal percentage. She has 90 blocks so far this season, averaging nearly three per game, while shooting 64.3 percent from the field. Her defensive prowess led to her receiving the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year award, while garnering unanimous nods to the Big Ten's First Team all-conference team and the All-Defensive Team.
Her stature has led UCLA to lead the Big Ten in rebounds with 43.7 per game, which is fifth in the country. The Bruins outrebound their opponents by 13, the widest gap in the NCAA.
Kiki Rice runs the point for the Bruins, dishing out 4.9 assists per game. She holds a 2.38 assist-to-turnover ratio, good for second in the Big Ten. She joined Betts on the all-conference first team by averaging 13.1 points per game.
REBELS AGAINST THE BIG TEN
The Rebels hold an 18-15 record against current members of the Big Ten. Ole Miss faced USC in the 2024-25 season opener at the Aflac Oui-Play in Paris, France, dropping the game, 68-66. Ole Miss last beat a member of the Big Ten on Nov. 20, 2023, when it bested Michigan, 60-49, in the title round of the Battle4Atlantis Tournament.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 25 Ole Miss secured a spot back in the Sweet 16 after a thrilling 69-63 victory over No. 14 Baylor, on Sunday, in Waco, Texas.
The Rebels forced a season-high 21 turnovers from the Bears to earn the win.
Sira Thienou and Madison Scott were fire and ice for the Rebels against the Bears, scoring 16 and 14 points, respectively. The graduate-freshman duo set the pace for the Rebels early on, with spending over 30 minutes on the court.
CLUTCH FACTOR
In the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, KK Deans was the hero who put the Rebels up for good in the fourth quarter against Baylor, making a 3-pointer and all six of her free throws in the final two minutes of action.
Tied at 61 all with 1:05 left in the game, Madison Scott hit a clutch jump shot to put the Rebels up by two. From there, Baylor was forced into intentional fouling against Deans, who made all six of her free throws to fashion the final score of 69-63
DANGEROUS DUO
Against Ball State, Kennedy Todd-Williams and Starr Jacobs became the first Rebel duo to each record a double-double in a game since Feb. 18, 2024, when Rita Igbokwe and Todd-Williams each had one against Mississippi State. For Todd-Williams, it marks her first double-double of the season, second as a Rebel and fifth of her overall career. Jacobs earned her fourth of the season and 30th overall.
The pair had 11 rebounds each, a season high for Todd-Williams, pacing the team. Six of Todd-Williams' came from the offensive side. She also added 14 points to the Rebel cause while Jacobs scored a team-high 18 points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting night.
NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORDS
Ole Miss' 18-point victory over Ball State is the fifth-widest in a NCAA Tournament game in program history, while the 83 points is the sixth-most.
Ole Miss' 53 rebounds is the most by a Rebel squad in the national tournament. Defensively, the Rebels had five blocks, good for the fifth most in the NCAA tournament by a Rebel team in program history.
