Ole Miss women move up to No. 13 in AP poll with Auburn on deck tonight

Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin yells to her players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball semifinal game against South Carolina, at the women’s Southeastern Conference tournament, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn.

Nas South Carolina Vs Ole Miss 009

Ole Miss jumped up four spots in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll, after a huge win over the weekend against then-5th-ranked Vanderbilt. The Rebels (18-4) are ranked No. 13 this week jumping up from No. 17. Vanderbilt (20-2) slipped to No. 7.

Ole Miss plays Auburn (13-() tonight at 6 CT. The game will be televised on the SEC Network+.

The last time out, a complete, all-around effort from Ole Miss led to a toppling of No. Vanderbilt, 83-75, Friday afternoon in Birmingham, Alabama.

With the win, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has guided the Rebels to a pair of victories against top five opponents this season, the other being against No. 5 Oklahoma earlier in January. The Rebels have accomplished this team feat only twice before, last time being during the 1995-96 season when they bested No. 5 Vanderbilt and No. 3 Tennessee just 10 days apart. For McPhee-McCuin, it marks her 17th ranked win as the leader of the Rebels, and her third against top five opponents.

Ole Miss extended its win streak against Vanderbilt to six games, the longest such streak in series history. Once again, the Rebels were tasked with halting one of the best 3-point shooting schools in the SEC and completely shut them down from long distance. Vanderbilt averaged 9.9 3-pointers per game entering today’s contest but made only four on a 25 percent shooting clip.

Cotie McMahon and Christeen Iwuala paved the way for the Rebels, scoring 27 and 18 points, respectively. Iwuala tied her career-high in rebounds with 14 to earn her eighth career double-double, all of which have come this season. She also paced the team in blocks (with two) and steals (with three) in 35 minutes of action. She shot a highly efficient 72.7 percent clip for the day.

Latasha Lattimore and Kaitlin Peterson joined the double-digit scoring club for the day, adding 12 and 11 points, respectively.

AP TOP 25

  1. UConn 23-0
  2. UCLA 22-1
  3. South Carolina 21-2
  4. Texas 21-2
  5. LSU 21-2
  6. Louisville 21-3
  7. Vanderbilt 21-2
  8. Michigan 19-3
  9. Ohio State 20-3
  10. Iowa 18-4
  11. Okklahoma 17-5
  12. Michigan State 19-3
  13. Ole Miss 18-4
  14. TCU 20-3
  15. Baylor 19-4
  16. Kentucky 18-5
  17. Duke 16-6
  18. Texas Tech 21-3
  19. Tennessee 14-5
  20. West Virginia 18-5
  21. Alabama 19-4
  22. Maryland 17-6
  23. Princeton 18-2
  24. Washington 17-5
  25. North Carolina 17-5

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