Rebels Dominate Early, Hold Off Commodores Late for 83–75 Victory

No. 17 Ole Miss looked every bit the part early, imposing its will with physical defense, relentless rebounding and a controlled pace to build a commanding first-half lead.

That cushion proved crucial, as the Rebels withstood a second-half surge from No. 5 Vanderbilt and made the necessary plays late to secure an 83-75 win.

First Half Reaction

Ole Miss couldn’t have asked for a better first half performance.

Vanderbilt wants to play fast, get up and down the court and take a lot of shots. Ole Miss wants to slow things down and make things a little messy.

 For five minutes, Vanderbilt got what it wanted. The other 15 minutes were messy for the Commodores and Ole Miss played great.

The Rebels had a high intensity and great effort in building a 20-point lead at one point late in the half. They forced 12 turnovers and scored 15 points off those turnovers. They also had a dominant half on the boards, outrebounding Vanderbilt 21-17.

Christeen Iwuala was incredibly dominant down low. She posted a double-double in the first half alone, with  10 points and 10 rebounds. She also defended well at times even defending Vanderbilt’s smaller point guard on the perimeter.

Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes is too good to entirely shut down and she had 14 points (6-13 FG), but only two other Commodores had a single field goal made. Blakes also turned the ball over five times.

Ole Miss was the opposite. Seven different players had a field goal made and eight had at least one rebound. Also, nobody had more than two turnovers.

Cotie McMahon was the Rebels’ leading scorer with 15 points, including a incredible drive in the lane that ended with a euro step around two defenders and soft layup as she fell to the floor.

Traffic doesn't stop Cotie#HottyToddy x #Give pic.twitter.com/AW8220nGdK

— Ole Miss Women's BB (@OleMissWBB) January 30, 2026

Kaitlin Peterson added seven points and Latasha Lattimore had five in the first half.

But like Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said in her interview headed into the locker room, Vanderbilt is a really good team. To win the Rebels will have keep playing like it has for another 20 minutes.

Second Half Reaction

Ole Miss didn’t keep it up, but still held on for a 83-75 win.

Ole Miss didn’t keep it up. The Rebels couldn’t keep Vanderbilt’s high-scoring offense down. The Commodores erased half of the deficit in the blink of an eye to start the third quarter. Blakes continued her hot shooting and started getting help from others, like Audrey Galvan.

The Rebels, meanwhile, started playing sloppy and not in the good kind way. Vanderbilt players were getting open for wide shots and forced six turnovers in the third quarter alone.

Ole Miss held the lead until early in the fourth quarter, thanks in large part by getting into the bonus midway through the third quarter. The Rebels made 16 trips to the charity stripe and made all but one. McMahon went to the line six times herself and made all her free throws.

Vanderbilt took their first lead since early in the first quarter midway through the fourth quarter. The Rebels were able to take that punch and retake the lead for good less than two minutes later.

Ole Miss Top Performers

• Points: Cotie McMahon, 27
• Rebounds: Christeen Iwuala, 14
• Assists: Cotie McMahon, 3
• Steals: Christeen Iwuala/Kaitlin Peterson, 3
• Blocks: Christeen Iwuala, 2

Next Up

Ole Miss will stay in Birmingham for the weekend and will face Auburn at Legacy Arena on Monday. The game will be available on SECN+ starting at 6 p.m.

Also, the postponed game against No. 15 Tennessee from last Sunday has been rescheduled for February 17. That game will tipoff at 6 p.m. on ESPNU in Oxford.