Ole Miss women's basketball made their third consecutive NCAA Tournament this season. It continues the Lady Rebel's impressive history in making the tournament.
Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin guided the Ole Miss Women's team to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024. It took the total tournament bids to 20 for Ole Miss, becoming the 33rd women's basketball team to reach that milestone.
Setting the standard 📈 pic.twitter.com/ioOgA8GCij
— Ole Miss Women's BB (@OleMissWBB) March 19, 2024
The Rebels made the first women's NCAA Tournament of 32 teams in 1982, falling at the first hurdle to Memphis State. Including the 1982 tournament, the Lady Rebels made 11 straight bids in the NCAA tournament, five of them as a top three seed.
Before the tournament changed from the 1996 season to national seeding instead of regional, the Lady Rebels made three regional finals and two sweet sixteen appearances. However, they failed to take the victory in any of those match-ups
After their 1996 appearance that saw the Rebels bow out in the first round to Toledo, the team failed to make another tournament bid until 2004. It was previous head coach Carol Ross's first season, making three bids in her four seasons at Ole Miss.
In Ross's final season as head coach, the Lady Rebels had their best run in the 64-team tournament, making the elite eight. They lost to the number one seed, Tennessee, with Ross resigning from her position not long after.
Since then, the Lady Rebels had three head coaches in Renee Ladner, Brett Frank and Matt Insell. In their combined 11 seasons in charge, there were no NCAA Tournament appearances for the Ole Miss women's basketball team.
Now currently, in the Coach Yo regime, we have seen three continuous appearances in her six seasons. In 2023, they made the Sweet Sixteen under McPhee-McCuin, losing to Louisville. The season before their first tournament bid under Coach Yo, they finished runners-up in the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
Ole Miss women’s basketball earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels will take on No. 10 Marquette in South Bend. pic.twitter.com/MszwYNOOmf
— Kam Dyer (@TheKamDyer) March 18, 2024
Entering this season's tournament, Ole Miss have a big chance of making a long run, with the Final Four not out of the question.