The Ole Miss women’s basketball team is heading to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row, being selected as a 5-seed in the incoming edition of March Madness.
During Sunday’s selection show, the Rebels were slotted in the Sacramento region and will play 12-seed Gonzaga in the tournament’s opening round. The game is scheduled for Friday, March 20, at 2:30 p.m. CT.
The winner will play either 4-seed Minnesota or 13-seed Green Bay.
THIS IS MARCH😤#HottyToddy x #Give pic.twitter.com/SYT4Wvjc8t
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) March 16, 2026
Ole Miss (23-11, 8-8 SEC) is coached by Yolett McPhee-McCuin and led on the floor by senior forward Cotie McMahon, an Ohio State transfer who was recently named SEC Newcomer of the Year and to the All-SEC first team. McMahon holds team highs in points (19.9) and assists per game (3.0). Fellow senior forward Christeen Iwuala leads the team with 8.4 rebounds per game and is second to McMahon with 12.7 points per game.
McPhee-McCuin has built Ole Miss into a national threat since taking the job in Oxford in 2018. The Rebels have posted 20-win seasons five years in a row and have advanced to the Sweet 16 two of the last three years. Their five-year tournament streak is the second-longest in program history, behind an 11-year run from 1982-92.
Gonzaga (24-9, 14-4 WCC) is coached by Lisa Fortier and led on the floor by forward Lauren Whittaker, who was recently named the West Coast Conference’s Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Whittaker holds team highs in points (19.4) and rebounds per game (10.2). Sophomore guard Allie Turner leads the team with 3.5 assists per game and is second to Whittaker with 14.4 points per game.
Fortier, a former Gonzaga assistant who was promoted to head coach in 2014, is the only coach in program history to have 11 20-win seasons in their first 12 seasons. This is her ninth team to earn an NCAA Tournament bid with her 2024 group advancing to the Sweet 16.
Ole Miss and Gonzaga have played three times, the last game being a 71-48 Rebel victory in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss won in 2010 regular season and Gonzaga won in 1993 regular season, giving the Rebels a 2-1 all-time advantage.