This 2025-26 regular season was yet another success for the Ole Miss Women’s Basketball team. For the fifth-straight season, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has led the Lady Rebels to a berth in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
Though McPhee-McCuin has established Ole Miss as a perennial contender, the road was not always easy. McPhee-McCuin is in her eighth season as head coach. In 2018-19, her first season, the Lady Rebels tied for No. 12 in the SEC, and a year later, they finished last in the SEC.
Growth was slow, but it came nonetheless. In 2020-21, Ole Miss once again missed the tournament, but the team accepted a bid to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT), which features the best teams that missed the cut for the NCAA Tournament.
Led by current Washington Mystic Shakira Austin, who averaged 18.6 points per game in the regular season, the Lady Rebels advanced to the WNIT championship game, where they lost to Rice, 71-58.
“When we lost in the championship game of the WNIT during the COVID year in Memphis, and I pulled up to my house, I had like 50 people in my yard from the neighborhood, just celebrating me,” McPhee-McCuin said in a press conference Sunday night. “I remember at the loss, I didn’t cry, but when I saw those people in love, I just broke down in tears and it was tears of joy.”
A season later, Austin returned, and for the first time under McPhee-McCuin, Ole Miss advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Since then, the Lady Rebels have done it every year. They advanced as far as the Sweet 16 in 2022-23 and 2024-25.
This season was particularly notable for the Lady Rebels. Not only did they earn a No. 5 seed, tying with last season’s team for the best postseason seeding under McPhee-McCuin, they also etched themselves into the history books by winning three games against top-5 opponents (No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 5 Vanderbilt, twice) for the first time in program history.
This marks the Lady Rebels’ 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance in their 51-year history. Although Ole Miss has experienced much success over the years, the program has yet to advance past the Elite Eight. McPhee-McCuin has not led a team past the Sweet 16.
There is a path for Ole Miss to make it to the Final Four but not without serious obstacles.
The Lady Rebels finished the regular season 23-11 overall and 8-8 in SEC play, No. 8 in the conference. On Selection Sunday, the Lady Rebels received the No. 5 seed in Region 2 and will play their first game on Friday, March 20 against No. 12 seed Gonzaga.
The players are looking to finish the job in the upcoming tournament.
If they beat Gonzaga in round one, they will face the winner of No. 4 seed Minnesota and No. 13 seed Green Bay. The Golden Gophers have home court advantage for the first two rounds.
If the Lady Rebels are able to make it to the Sweet Sixteen, they will likely face No. 1 seed UCLA, a powerhouse team this year. Their corner of the bracket also includes potential Elite Eight matchups with No. 2 seed LSU and No. 3 seed Duke.
Though all these teams will provide tough matchups, Ole Miss has already shown it can compete with elite teams, winning 20 games this year for the fifth season in a row.
In a season that turned heads across the country and furthered Ole Miss’ national reputation, the Lady Rebels will now look to hang a banner for the first time in program history.
