NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament: How to Watch and Game Thread - #1 Seed UCLA Bruins vs. #5 Seed Ole Miss Rebels
The Bruins meet the Rebels in a Sweet 16 game at the Spokane Regional.
The UCLA women’s basketball team is one-third of the way to their goal of a national championship. Tonight, they play #5 seed Ole Miss in the Sweet Sixteen at Spokane Regional 1 at 7 pm. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
For the most part, the women’s tournament has followed chalk to this point. There have only been seven upsets in 48 games through Monday night, though three of those seven upsets occurred in the Second Round when three #5 seeds defeated three of the four #4 seeds.
Last Time Out
Ole Miss is one of those #5 seeds who upset their higher seed opponents. The Rebels defeated #4 seed Baylor on Sunday, 69-63, despite the fact that the Bears were playing at home.
It was a game which went down to the wire and was tied with 1:05 to go.
The Rebels had a 20-16 lead after the first quarter, but the Bears outscored Ole Miss 13-6 in the second to take a 29-26 lead at the break. The Rebels closed the gap and tied the game 48-48 at the end of the third quarter.
Former Bruin Christeen Iwuala’s free throw gave Ole Miss a one-point edge 15 seconds into the fourth and the Rebels held the lead until Baylor tied it again with 1:36 to go.
Madison Scott gave Ole Miss a two-point lead with 40 seconds to go and KK Deans hit a pair of free throws to make it 65-61. That sealed the deal as Baylor could only score two more points in the final 30 seconds.
Ole Miss Rebels’ Starting Five
The Rebels are coached by Yolett McPhee-McCuin who is in her seventh year in Oxford. McPhee-McCuin will start a lineup with three guards and two forwards.
Forward Madison Scott leads Ole Miss in scoring with an average of 12.1 ppg. She also leads the team in blocks with 30 and assists with 121. She scored 14 on Sunday against Baylor.
The other starting forward will be Iwaula, who left Westwood after last season. She has averaged 6.8 ppg for the Rebels this year in mostly a reserve role. Iwaula has alternated starts with Starr Jacobs over the past four games. So, Jacobs, who’s averaging 11.0 ppg could get the start, but I would expect Iwaula to get the nod against her former team, especially since she gives the Rebels a little bit more height to combat Lauren Betts. Jacobs is listed as two inches shorter than Iwaula.
Moving to the guards, Ole Miss has a pair which is averaging in double figures. Senior Kennedy Todd-Williams averages 11.4 ppg, which is second on the team. She is also second in rebounds with an average of 5.3 per game. Freshman Sira Theinou averages 10.8 ppg. Theinou also leads the Rebels in steals with 77 and in three-point percentage with 37.0%. While she has the highest three-point percentage on the team, she is only fourth on the team in three-point attempts.
The third guard will be Colorado grad transfer Tameiya Sadler. Sadler averages just 6.5 ppg but she is second on the Rebels in assists with 92.
The one player who could prove to be dangerous off the bench would by Deans. While her three-point percentage is just 32.5%, she takes more threes for Ole Miss than anyone else. She has averaged 9.2 ppg this season but she put up 13 against Baylor on Sunday.
Analysis
I like this matchup for the Bruins. Unlike Richmond which challenged UCLA from outside, Ole Miss doesn’t seem to shoot that many threes, or at least make many of them. Against Baylor, they went just 2 for 10 from beyond the arc. For the season, they are shooting just 30.3% from long distance.
That means Ole Miss will try to win with short and mid-range shots.
In another words, they are going to go right at Lauren Betts and the Bruins’ inside defense.
I don’t see that as a winning move as they can’t match Betts’ height.
Listen to the Game With TMB
Tonight’s game will be broadcast on ESPN with Pam Ward, Stephanie White, and Holly Rowe on the call. Of course, you can choose to listen to Dave Marcus call the game for the Bruins by listening online. To do that, just right-click on the link below so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below. Listen to tonight’s game online.
This is your UCLA women’s basketball vs. Ole Miss Rebels NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream today’s game:
NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16
Opponents: #1 Seed UCLA Women’s Basketball (32-2) vs. #5 seed Ole Miss Rebels (22-10)
Series Record: First meeting
When: Approx. 7:00 pm PT, Friday, March 28, 2025
Where: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, WA
TV: ESPN with Pam Ward, Stephanie White and Holly Rowe
Live Stream: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app
Online Audio: uclabruins.com with Dave Marcus
Live Stats: NCAA Gamecenter
Tournament Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
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U!!!
LSU will be a real test. They’re peaking at the right time. Hope we can use the memory of last year and come out ready.