Oxford, Miss. — The University of Mississippi women’s basketball team will face Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals Friday at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. Central Time, and the game will be streamed on SEC Network, according to the school’s release.
Ole Miss, seeded seventh with a 22-10 record and an 8-8 mark in conference play, will meet the second-seeded Commodores, who hold a 27-3 overall record and a 13-3 SEC record. Head coaches Yolett McPhee-McCuin of Ole Miss and Shea Ralph of Vanderbilt will lead their teams in the matchup. Ralph has guided Vanderbilt to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, the first since 1999-2014, with her team averaging 27.1 points per game from SEC Player of the Year Mikayla Blakes.
The series between the two teams favors Vanderbilt, which leads 35-23 in matchups dating back to 1978. Ole Miss is on a six-game winning streak against Vanderbilt, the longest in the series history. Last season, the Rebels swept the Commodores, winning 87-59 and 76-61. In the first game, Cotie McMahon scored 27 points, and Christeen Iwuala added a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. The second game saw Starr Jacobs score 24 points and Madison Scott contribute 16 to secure the victory.
Vanderbilt features a potent offense led by Blakes, who averages 27.1 points per game. The team is also highly efficient from three-point range, making nearly 10 shots per game at a 36.8% clip, ranking fifth nationally. The Commodores excel in assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking fifth in the nation at 1.49, with freshman guard Aubrey Galvan playing a key role, averaging 12.9 points and earning SEC Freshman of the Year honors.
Ole Miss advanced to the SEC quarterfinals after defeating Auburn 66-58 Thursday. Christeen Iwuala led the Rebels with 18 points and nine rebounds, making all eight of her shots. Cotie McMahon and Latasha Lattimore scored 13 and 12 points, respectively. Lattimore also reached 71 blocks this season, becoming only the second Rebel to surpass 70 blocks in a single season.
