OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss women’s basketball team will begin its NCAA Tournament run against Gonzaga on Friday, March 20, at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The fifth-seeded Rebels will look to advance for the fourth year in a row and the 15th time in program history, with tip-off scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
Ole Miss, making its 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance, earned a No. 5 seed for the second consecutive year. The Rebels have a 23-11 record and finished eighth in the SEC with an 8-8 conference mark. Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin is in her eighth season at the helm, holding a 148-105 record with the team.
The Rebels will face Gonzaga, which boasts a 24-9 record and a 14-4 mark in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga, led by coach Lisa Fortier in her 12th season, has appeared in nine NCAA Tournaments and reached the Sweet 16 twice. The Bulldogs recently won the WCC Championship, their 11th conference tournament victory.
Ole Miss and Gonzaga have met three times previously, with the Rebels holding a 2-1 series advantage. Their most recent meeting was in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, where Ole Miss won 71-48 to advance to the Sweet 16. In that game, Madison Scott led with a double-double, and Snudda Collins scored 15 points off the bench.
The Rebels aim to continue their tournament success and reach the second round for the fifth consecutive year. This matchup represents a familiar challenge for Ole Miss, which has faced the Bulldogs more often than any other West Coast Conference team in its history.
Coverage of the game will be available on ESPN2, with Krista Blunk calling the action and Andrea Lloyd providing analysis. Ole Miss’s radio broadcast will be available on the Ole Miss Radio Network, with Graham Doty on play-by-play.
