The Ole Miss women’s basketball team will make its fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament when it faces Gonzaga in the first round Friday at 2 p.m. in Minneapolis, according to the NCAA. The Rebels are the No. 5 seed in the West Regional, while Gonzaga is the No. 12 seed.
Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin expressed her appreciation for the team’s continued postseason run. “It’s hard, y’all,” she said after the matchup was announced. “Not everybody gets to dance in March.” The winner of the game will advance to face either No. 4 seed Minnesota or No. 13 seed Green Bay in the second round, with the regional final scheduled for Sacramento next week.
Ole Miss, with a 23-11 record, has reached the NCAA Tournament every year since going 7-23 in 2018, McPhee-McCuin’s second season. The team has won 127 games over the past five seasons and defeated three top-five teams this year, including Oklahoma, Vanderbilt twice, and Tennessee. The Rebels also pushed undefeated Texas to the wire in a 67-64 loss in Austin.
Gonzaga enters the tournament with a 24-9 record, having won the West Coast Conference championship by defeating Oregon State 76-66 on March 10. The Bulldogs have won five of their last six games and 10 of their last 12, with their only loss since Feb. 14 coming in overtime at Portland.
Ole Miss and Gonzaga met in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, with the Rebels winning 71-58 at Stanford. The upcoming matchup marks their second meeting in the tournament, with Ole Miss aiming to advance further this year.
Senior forward Cotie McMahon leads the Rebels with a 19.9-point scoring average and was named a second-team Sporting News All-American. She is familiar with Williams Arena, having played there as a three-year starter at Ohio State before transferring to Ole Miss. McMahon is one of eight transfers helping Ole Miss this season after last year’s roster was decimated by graduation.
