Women's Basketball to Begin NCAA Tournament Run against South Dakota Friday in Waco

			2022 NCAA TOURNAMENT - WICHITA REGION No. 7 OLE MISS (23-8, 10-6 SEC) vs. No. 10 SOUTH DAKOTA (27-5, 17-1 SUMMIT) Friday, March 18 • 12:30 p.m. CT • Waco, Texas Ferrell Center
Watch • Listen • Live Stats • Tournament Central Ole Miss Game Notes • South Dakota Game Notes • SEC Game Notes

WACO Texas.– In its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 15 seasons, seventh seeded Ole Miss is geared up for its first round matchup in the Wichita Region against the 10th seeded South Dakota Coyotes, Friday from the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. Tipoff against the Coyotes is slated for 12:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2 with Elise Woodward and Andrea Lloyd on the call.

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (23-8, 10-6 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 4th Season at Ole Miss (54-65) • 148-128 career record (9th Season)

South Dakota Coyotes (27-5, 17-1 SOUTHLAND)
Head Coach: Dawn Plitzuweit • 6th Season at South Dakota (156-35) • 344-128 career record (15th Season)

ON THE AIR

Television/Online: ESPN2
Play by Play: Elise Woodward
Analyst: Andrea Lloyd

OLE MISS RADIO

Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
Station: 105.1 FM / SIRIUSXM 382

SERIES NOTES

VERSUS SOUTH DAKOTA
Friday's matchup will be the first all-time between the Rebels and the Coyotes.

It will be the third game against a program from the Summit League, as Ole Miss holds a 2-0 record with two wins against Oral Roberts coming in 1993 and 1994.

VERSUS BAYLOR
The Bears hold a 2-1 advantage in the series against the Rebels, with both victories in the last decade.

The two teams last met in Oxford in 2014 in Oxford where Baylor came away with a lopsided 96-54 win. Ole Miss makes its second trip to Waco and its only since 2013, where they came up short 87-80 against the Bears.

Ole Miss is 17-14 all-time against Big 12 opponents, winning its last game against a Big 12 foe against Kansas last season in Oxford, 70-53.

VERSUS THE RAINBOW WAHINE
Hawai'i leads the 2-1 series, with the teams last meeting in 2013 in Honolulu. The Rainbow Wahine have claimed the last two meetings, as Ole Miss won the first back in 1985.

The Rebels are 2-5 against Big West teams, with their last meeting at Hawai'i in 2013.

BACK IN THE DANCE
Following a 15-year drought, the Rebels once again find themselves back in the national conversation with its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2007, for the program's 18th overall.

The last time Ole Miss reached the big dance was a trip for the ages, when the seventh-seeded Rebels made a remarkable run to the Elite Eight.

With its 18th NCAA Tournament appearance, Ole Miss is one of 37 programs nationally to make 18 or more trips to the dance.

This is the Rebels third trip as a seventh seed, as Ole Miss is 3-2 at No. 7.

MCPHEE-MCCUIN IN THE TOURNAMENT
This year's trip to the tournament is the second in McPhee-McCuin's career as the coach took Jacksonville to the dance back in 2016.

The 16th seeded Dolphins made the trip to Columbia, South Carolina to face off against the No. 1 Gamecocks, falling 77-41 against the eventual Final Four squad.

SHINING AT THE SEC TOURNEY
Some shine brightest on the biggest stages and at the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Shakira Austin and Angel Baker did just that.

The two accounted for over 50 percent of Ole Miss' offensive output at Bridgestone Arena with Austin averaging 21.5 and Baker with 17.5 points per game.

Austin's performance led to her being named to the SEC All-Tournament for the first conference tournament honors of her career.

BLOCK PARTY-NASHVILLE STYLE
A block party broke out quickly against Florida in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals as Ole Miss rejected a program record 11 shots in a conference tournament game.

Shakira Austin set the Ole Miss single-game SEC Tournament record with six blocks of her own on her way to adding a season-high 27 points.

The effectiveness of the Rebel defense can be seen around the rim with 13 games this season with five plus blocks as a team.

BAKER OFF THE BENCH >>>
There's a reason why Angel Baker was named the SEC's Sixth-Woman of the Year, as the senior's productivity is unmatched.

14 out of her 15 double-digit outings have been off of the bench, and all five of her 20-point games have been as a reserve.

Baker is the only Rebel in the 21st century to accomplish that feat with five 20-point games off of the bench.

THE BEST OF THE BEST
Shakira Austin built off a dominant junior year to carry that momentum into her senior campaign, to earn her second straight first-team All-SEC honors.

Austin is the eighth Rebel to earn consecutive first-team All-SEC honors and the only one in Oxford since Tia Faleru did so in 2014 & 2015.

SIXTH WOMAN UP
One of the best sparks off the bench in the SEC, Angel Baker's impact was validated with the senior earning the SEC's Sixth Woman of the Year award.

With the honor, Baker became the first Rebel to earn the award.

4x100
Mimi Reid has been one of the SEC's best passers in her four years in Oxford, as the Bronx, N.Y., native ranks second in active career assists in the SEC with a total of 481.

Reid surpassed 100 on the season on senior day to reach 100 assists in each season for four straight years.

BLOCKING HER WAY TO THE TOP
Shakira Austin loves a good rejection here and there as with three blocks versus South Carolina, she tallied her 55th career game with multiple blocks.

Austin is four blocks away for the second most in program history in a single season.

STAYING HOT
There was something about the floor in Auburn Arena that hit right for the Rebels, shooting at a blistering 50 percent clip through four quarters.

It was the Rebels best field goal percentage against an SEC opponent in over three seasons.

FOLLOW THE FOOTSTEPS
Off the glass, Shakira Austin has been on a tear recently with 15 boards at Vanderbilt and then 16 against Arkansas. The 16 were the most by a Rebel in a game this year and set an SJB Pavilion record for the most in a single game.

Shakira is the only Rebel to snag 15+ boards in back-to-back games since assistant coach Armintie (Price) Herrington in 2003.

SEC WINS JUST MEAN MORE
With its 10th SEC victory, Ole Miss tied the most in a season in the last 20 years and reached its second season in program history with double-digit wins in conference play.

The Rebels had not reached double-digit wins in SEC play since the 1991-92 season where the Rebels went 11-0 in conference play.

ASSISTING ON AND OFF THE COURT
Redshirt senior Mimi Reid has been a fixture throughout the Oxford community in her five years at Ole Miss as Reid was named to the 2022 SEC Community Service Team.

Reid has spent time with numerous organizations through the community, assisting to gather items for the Feed the Sip Food drive, and working with the Boys and Girls Club of Oxford.

HISTORY HAPPENS HERE
The win over the Commodores was just another milestone set by the Rebels during the 2021-22 campaign as Ole Miss reached 20 wins for the first time since the 2006-07 season for the 20th, 20-win season in program history.

EXCELLENT GLASS CLEANERS
There's a reason why Ole Miss has outrebounded its opponents in over half of its games this year, against Auburn proved to be no different.

Ole Miss outrebounded its opponent for the 18th time this season and cleaned up on the boards by a margin of 22+ at Auburn.

This was the third time this year that Ole Miss has outrebounded its opponent by a margin of 15 or more in SEC play and the sixth time this season.

Six games with a 15+ rebound margin is the most in the last 10 seasons.

HOLDING IT DOWN
Aggressive defense by the Rebels assisted them to keeping Vanderbilt to only a mere 47 points in the matchup.

The Commodores were the latest victims to the Rebel defense, being the 10th Ole Miss opponent to be kept under 50 points this season as the program record was extended.

WE LIKE TO MIX THINGS UP
Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin loves to tinker with her lineup. Vanderbilt was her 11th different starting rotation this season.

The combination of Mimi Reid, Destiny Salary, Madison Scott, Snudda Collins and Shakira Austin has been the most successful this year with a perfect record of 6-0.

KIRA'S WORLD
There was no stopping Shakira Austin against the Commodores, as the senior almost single handedly outrebounded Vanderbilt as a team herself.

Austin grabbed a then season-high 15 rebounds and added her eighth 20-point performance of the season with a total of 22 points against the Commodores.

She is the only Rebel in the last seven seasons to notch 20 points and 15 boards in a single game.

THAT'S 50
The win over the Aggies marked an important milestone Thursday night for head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin with her 50th win as the head coach at Ole Miss.

McPhee-McCuin continues along one of the best campaigns of her coaching career and is one win away from tying her career best of wins in a season at 24.

SWEET SWEEP
From start to finish, Ole Miss maintained complete control over Texas A&M to claim its second win of the season over the Aggies.

It was the first victory over the Aggies at home since 2017, and the first regular season sweep of A&M in program history.

YOU GET A BUCKET! & YOU GET A BUCKET!
It was an all-around scoring affair against Texas A&M as 10 Rebels made their way to the bucket.

For the second game in conference play, Ole Miss accomplished this task with 10 scoring with both games against Texas A&M

THE ACCOLADES CONTINUE
For the second straight year, Shakira Austin found herself named to the Lisa Leslie Award Top-10 Watch List as one of the nation's best centers.

Austin was also recently named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top-20 List and the Naismith Award Midseason Team.

1K x 2
With the first rebound of the game against Texas A&M, Shakira Austin hit the 1,000 career rebound mark 118 games into her career. She is the only active player in the SEC with 1,000 career boards.

Austin eclipsing 1,000, makes her one of 10 active players in Division I with 1,500 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.

DOMINANT OFF THE GLASS
Madison Scott was key off the glass against LSU, grabbing a season-high 15 rebounds against the Tigers. Scott finished one shy of her career-high of 16 set last season.

Scott and Austin are the only Rebels in the last five seasons to grab 15+ boards in a single game and Scott's done it twice in her two years in Oxford.

QUIET IN CoMo
Coming in as the nation's fourth best team in field goal percentage, Ole Miss made sure of it that Mizzou could not find the basket, only allowing 45 points.

It marked the fewest points allowed in an SEC road game since January 12, 1991 in a 67-41 win at Mississippi State.

The Rebels also kept Mizzou scoreless from three, the first game in 14 seasons that the Tigers went a game without a triple.

ANY TIME. ANY PLACE.
With the victory at Missouri, the Rebels moved to 8-1 on the road to set the most wins away from home for the program in the 21st century.

The win at Auburn tied the most road wins in a season since 1993-94 at nine.

NO THREES HERE
In three SEC games, the Rebels have been a threat against teams attempting to get shots up beyond the arc, with Florida, Kentucky and Missouri unable to hit a triple against the Rebels.

This is the only time in 20 seasons in which Ole Miss has held three SEC opponents scoreless from beyond the arc.

CAN'T GET PAST THIS
Ole Miss loves to take the ball away from its opponents and for the 15th game this year the Rebels recorded double-digit steals against Vanderbilt.

The 15 games in double-figures are the most in a single season in the McPhee-McCuin era.

AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
Ole Miss has knocked off a top-10 opponent 29 times in program history, and have defeated a top-25 team a total of 88 times.

When the Rebels are ranked, Ole Miss boasts a record of 314-107 for a .745 winning percentage.

JUMPING IN
Coming in at No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches poll on Feb. 1, was another historic milestone for this Rebel squad.

The last time Ole Miss was slotted in the poll was Jan. 29, 2007.

The Rebels remained in the poll for a second straight week on Feb. 8 at No. 25, the first time Ole Miss had been in the poll for two straight weeks since 2005.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Rebels are dangerous on the road as four straight conference road wins to open SEC play was the longest streak since the 1991-92 season where the Rebels won six straight SEC road games.

RESPECT EARNED
For the first time in 15 seasons, Ole Miss found itself ranked in the Jan. 24 AP Poll coming in at No. 24.

It was the Rebels first appearance in the poll since January 22, 2007 when assistant coach Armintie Herrington (Price) was a senior for the Rebels. The youngest Rebel on the squad, Jaiyah Harris-Smith was four at the time.

LONE STAR STATE-MENT
The history books keep being rewritten, as Ole Miss checked off another milestone during the 2021-22 campaign, with its first road win against Texas A&M in the 80-63 victory from Bryan-College Station.

The Ole Miss defense cashed in off of A&M turnovers for a total of 25 points. While the Aggies couldn't hold onto the ball, the Rebels did an exceptional job of taking care of it with a season-low six turnovers.

1,500 CLUB
While Lashonda Monk hit the 1,500 career point milestone in January, Shakira Austin and Angel Baker eclipsed the mark with 11 and 20 points against LSU in February.

The three are one of 99 active players in Division I with 1,500 career points. Ole Miss is only one of five programs nationally with three 1,500 point scorers on its roster.

CRASH THE BOARDS
Off the glass against Mississippi State in Oxford, Ole Miss dominated the Bulldogs off the boards by a margin of 20 more at 43 to 23. This was the Rebels third game this season with a rebounding margin of 20 or more.

The feat against the Bulldogs was the largest rebounding margin against an SEC team since facing Vanderbilt in January of 2007, where the Rebels outrebounded the Commodores by 20. Former Rebel and current assistant coach, Armintie Herrington (Price) led Ole Miss in that game with a total of 11 rebounds.

Ole Miss bested this once again this season, outrebounding Auburn by a margin of 22+ on The Plains.

ALL OUT EFFORT
Through 16 SEC games, Ole Miss forced average of 16.1 turnovers per game. Six out of 16 conference opponents turned the ball over 20 or more times, with Florida surrendering an SEC opponent high of 25, followed by Tennessee with 22 and then Alabama with 21 in three consecutive games

The last time the Rebels forced 20+ turnovers in three straight games, was in 2017 in non-conference games against Middle Tennessee, Arkansas State and South Alabama.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
Not only are the Rebels one of the best teams in the SEC in terms of taking the ball away from its opponents, they also continue to prove that they can take care of it as well.

They love to win the turnover battle, as the Rebels currently rank second in the SEC with an average of 4.35 turnovers less than their opponent each game. This also ranks 33rd in all of Division I.

Against Texas A&M, in Bryan-College Station, the six turnovers surrendered to the Aggies, were the fewest in any game this season by the Rebels.

SHE'S GOT RANGE
We all knew that Shakira Austin has the ability to go to work and get it done in the paint, but the senior also proved that she's got the option of nailing a deep shot when she wants.

Austin hit back-to-back triple's in the fourth quarter against MSU in Oxford, to set a new-career high.

SHINING AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
With 26 points against No. 7 Tennessee, Shakira Austin loves to pour it on against ranked opponents.

In her 18 games against ranked opponents as a Rebel, she is currently averaging 17.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

ROAD TOUGH AND TESTED
With wins at Cal, Cincinnati, Hofstra, Florida and Texas A&M, Ole Miss loves to prove its talent nationwide with a record of 6-0 on the road to start the season.

This is the first time that the Rebels began their time on the road with six straight wins since the 1986-87 season.

STATEMENT. MADE.
Not only did Ole Miss pick up its first ranked win of the season against then No. 18 South Florida, it also was the first non-conference win over a ranked opponent for the program since 2007.

PICK POCKET PROS
Ole Miss recorded a season-high 18 steals at Florida, for the most steals in against an SEC opponent since facing Alabama in the 2007 SEC Tournament. The Rebels have recorded double-digit steals in 15 of 31 games this season.

The Rebels have accumulated a total of 286 steals this season ranking second in the SEC.

STREAK SETTERS
With 13 wins in a row dating from Nov. 14 through Jan. 6, Ole Miss rode its longest winning streak since the 1991 Rebels won 25 games in a row.

The 13 straight wins ranks third all-time in consecutive victories in program history.

BLOCK PARTY QUEEN
With her first two of three blocks at Hofstra, Shakira Austin eclipsed the 200 career block mark.

Austin currently ranks fifth in the SEC and 11th nationally with a total of 242 blocks throughout her four-year career.

The senior was a menace against the Crimson Tide, with a season-high seven blocks. The seven deflections were also the most by any Rebel in a single game this year.

DEFENSE > OFFENSE
The Rebels continue to slow down their opponents at a record pace, in 31 games Ole Miss has held 10 opponents under 50 points for a program record.

Ole Miss currently ranks No. 31 nationally in scoring defense and second in the SEC, allowing an average of 56.0 points per game.

The pressure on the opposite side of the ball has proven to be too much for their opponents, as the Rebels rank second in the conference forcing an average of 18.52 turnovers per game.

SHOOTING HER SHOT (PERFECTLY)
Against the Bearcats, Madison Scott's 8-of-8 mark to finish with 18 points accomplished a new Rebel feat.

Scott became the only player at Ole Miss in the last 20 seasons to shoot 1.000 or better with eight or more attempts in a single game.

WE DEFEND
Defense is the name of the Rebel game and for three games in a row against San Diego State, Cal and New Orleans, Ole Miss held each opponent under 50 points.

The feat was last accomplished by the Rebels in January of 1991 holding Jackson State, Mississippi State and Prairie View A&M under 50 points each.

OFF THE LINE
Three-point defense has been a point of emphasis during the Coach Yo era, with 72 of 112 opponents being held to five or fewer.

1st Season (2018-19)
17-of-31 (54.8%)

2nd Season (2019-20)
21-of-30 (70.0%)

3rd Season (2020-21)
14-of-22 (63.6 %)

4th Season (2021-22)
22-of-31 (70.9%)

DEFENSE ON LOCK
The Rebels have been unstoppable on the defensive side of the ball, holding their opponents to an average of 55.7 points per game.

The 44 points allowed to the Lady Techsters was the first time since the 2011-2012 season that Ole Miss kept its opponents under 50 points in back-to-back games. The Rebels followed this up again, keeping San Diego State and Cal under the mark as well.

The Lady Techsters were also held to just a mere 2 points in the second quarter, the fewest amount of points allowed by the Rebels in a quarter since the women's game moved to the format in 2015-2016.

SHARING IS CARING
The Rebels continue to drop dimes at a record pace, recording their eighth 20 plus assist against Texas A&M with 22.

Lashonda Monk tied a career-high with nine against the New Orleans, tying the most in a single-game by a Rebel in 2021.

ALL THE WAY UP
Powered by Shakira Austin, the Rebels were absolutely dominant on both sides of the boards, outrebounding their opponents by an average of 20.5 rebounds against Lamar and LA Tech.

The last time the Rebels accomplished this feat was in 2008, out rebounding Alcorn State and Nicholls State by 21 and 22 rebounds apiece.

OLE MISS EARNS PROGRAM WIN NO. 850
The Rebel win vs. Samford in the First Round of the WNIT in 2021 marked the 850th win in program history. All-time, Ole Miss is currently 875-592 (.596) in 46 years of NCAA Division I competition. Entering the 2020-21 season, only 44 programs have eclipsed the 850-win threshold.

Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole MissWBB. You can also follow head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on Twitter at @YolettMcCuin

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Players Mentioned

Shakira Austin

Angel Baker

Snudda Collins

Jaiyah Harris-Smith

Lashonda Monk

Mimi Reid

Destiny Salary

Madison Scott

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