Ole Miss opened the 2026-27 women’s basketball season on Monday with an 80-38 win over Alcorn State at The SJB Pavilion, in front of a Kids Day crowd HottyToddy.com put at about 9,000.
Yolett McPhee-McCuin liked the noise. She was less sure about the rest.
“We have a ways to go. That’s something that we want to work on.”
How it got lopsided
It was 10-6 after one quarter. Ole Miss scored 26 in the second to lead 36-19 at the half, then outscored Alcorn State 44-19 after halftime.
The defense did most of the work. Ole Miss forced 26 turnovers, had 14 steals and outrebounded Alcorn State 48-28, according to Ole Miss Athletics. HottyToddy.com counted 33 points off turnovers, 20 offensive rebounds and nine blocks.
Jaida Civil led Ole Miss with 17 points. Jada Richard added 14, and Jade Tillman had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the third double-double of her career. Talaysia Cooper scored nine.
Doneelah Washington’s seven blocks
Doneelah Washington blocked seven shots. McPhee-McCuin said the forward’s reach makes her harder to shoot over than she looks.
“One of the things about [Washington] is she has long arms. So, like, it kind of looks like she’s not— she can’t get to the ball, but then she puts her hand up and contests the shot, and she’s able to do that.”
She was candid about the other end: “Offensively, I didn’t think she was really good today.”
The three-point shots she didn’t like
Ole Miss made 5 of 23 three-point attempts. McPhee-McCuin said she does not judge makes and misses, but she did grade the choices.
“As long as they take good shots, I don’t really get caught up on how many they make or miss. I do think that there were about, out of the 23 3s that we took, 8, like 8 of them I would not advise us to take. So that’s something that we have to continue to cut down.”
Then came the line of the night.
“Our team is not mature yet. So, just understanding the looks and instead of settling for shots, getting the type of shots we want.”
A new roster, and a short bench
Asked how a roster with many new players grows up, McPhee-McCuin said it comes from games, film and different environments.
“You kind of have to just let them get out there, make mistakes, learn from them, watch the film. And as the games go on, I expect them to be better.”
She said the bench was shorter than she wants because of one absence, and that the player will be back. And she called the start “overall, it was okay,” adding that if the team keeps competing at this level, “by the time it’s time for us to really reap, we should be ready to go.”
Ole Miss hosts North Alabama on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
Photo: Yolett McPhee-McCuin, October 13, 2026, at SEC Basketball Tipoff, Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-Imagn Images.
Quotes from Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s postgame press conference, November 2, 2026. Statistics via Ole Miss Athletics and HottyToddy.com.