Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Sweet 16 Bound After Beating Baylor in the Round of 32

Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Women’s Basketball

WACO, TEXAS – How sweet it is.

No. 25 Ole Miss women’s basketball is headed back to the Sweet 16 after a thrilling 69-63 victory over No. 14 Baylor, on Sunday, in Waco, Texas.

Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has guided the Rebels (22-10, 10-6 SEC) to its second appearance in the Sweet 16 in the past three seasons, last reaching it in 2023.

In year 50 of Ole Miss women’s basketball, it’s the 12th time the Rebels have been one of the final 16 teams remaining. McPhee-McCuin improved her national tournament record to 5-3 in her time in Oxford. 

The Rebels forced a season-high 21 turnovers from the Baylor (28-8, 15-3 Big 12) 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.

Thienou also recorded her 77th steal of the season, breaking the tie with Armintie Price for the second-most robberies by an Ole Miss freshman in program history. Thienou will get an opportunity to claim the top spot in the Sweet 16, as she sets her sight on Alisa Scott’s 81.

KK Deans was the hero who put the Rebels up for good in the fourth quarter, making a 3-pointer and all six of her free throws in the final two minutes of action. She was the third Rebel in double digits with 13. Her 3-pointer was the 226th of her career, tying Bianca Thomas for the second-most by a Rebel in program history.

The Rebels had 40 rebounds in the game, led by Christeen Iwuala, who had seven. In Iwuala’s 100th overall career game, she led the team in rebounds for the eighth time this season, which is the second most by an individual Rebel this season. Tameiya Sadler tied her season-high with six. In total, five Rebels had at least five rebounds on the day.

Starr Jacobs became the fourth Rebel this season to join Ole Miss’ 1,500-point club. She’s the 14th Rebel to ever do so, as she joined Deans, Scott and Kennedy Todd-Williams to make that mark this season. She had eight points and six rebounds against the Bears off the bench.

Kennedy Todd-Williams added seven points to the Rebels cause, while etching her name into the Ole Miss record book. At 1,635 career points, Todd-Williams has scored the 10th most points by a Rebel in individual program history.

Ole Miss opened the game on fire, outscoring Baylor, 20-16, in the first quarter. Thienou and Scott paved the way for the Rebels, scoring eight and six points, respectively. Thienou also tacked on four rebounds in the first quarter of her first career NCAA Tournament start.

On the defensive end, Ole Miss stifled Baylor’s 3-point attack through the first quarter. The Bears missed all five shots from beyond the arc in the opening frame, forcing them to resort to a shorter range of attack. Baylor wouldn’t make a three until the third quarter.

Momentum shifted in the second quarter, but Ole Miss’ defense remained stout. Baylor scored only 13 points in the period on 33.3 percent shooting.

Ole Miss began the second half down by three, the Rebels made up that difference in the period. Thienou continued to deliver for the Rebels, missing only one of her four shots in the quarter, scoring six points. Backed by a final jumpshot from Thienou, Ole Miss battled back to tie the game at 48 to conclude the third quarter.

With the game on the line, the Rebels regained the lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Bears would continue to pester Ole Miss until the very end. KK Deans delivered her 3-pointer, while Scott made a deep jumper to give the Rebels a six-point advantage, which they wouldn’t surrender. The Rebels and Bears went shot-for-shot the remainder of the game until Baylor was forced into intentional fouling.

Deans would score the final six points for Ole Miss, all from the free throw line. Her only shots from the charity stripe of the afternoon put Ole Miss into the Sweet 16 and fashion the final score of 69-63.

Ole Miss will play the winner of No. 1 UCLA and Richmond in Spokane, Wa. on Friday, March 28.