GREENVILLE, S.C. – Madison Scott and Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 20 points each to guide seventh-seeded Ole Miss women’s basketball to an 85-73 win over in-state rival 10th-seeded Mississippi State in the second round of the 2025 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Greenville, S.C., on Thursday.

With their win, the Rebels (20-9, 11-6 SEC) move onto the quarterfinal round of the tournament, where they will face No. 1 Texas (29-2, 15-1 SEC). Ole Miss improved its overall tournament record to 31-43, as it reached the 20-win plateau for a fourth consecutive season. This is the first time in the 21st century that Ole Miss has reached at least 20 wins in four straight seasons and first in program history since Van Chancellor led 11 consecutive teams to that mark from 1981-92.

In both matchups this season, Ole Miss forced Mississippi State (21-11, 7-10 SEC) into more than 20 turnovers for the game. In this game, the Bulldogs committed 21 turnovers while the Rebels claimed 12 steals. Scott and Todd-Williams’ big day boosted them into new levels of Ole Miss history. Scott flew past Valencia MacFarland in career points for Ole Miss and now sits sixth in program history.

Her 20 points against Mississippi State gives her 1,681 points in her exceptional career. She missed only two shots on the day, while adding four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. For Todd-Williams, she joined Scott as the only active Rebels part of the 1,600-point club. She’s the 10th Rebel to reach that career accolade and effectively entered the top 10 in scoring for a Rebel career. The senior also had a team-leading seven rebounds.

Ole Miss made more than half its shot attempts for the fifth time this season against an SEC opponent. It led the Rebels to their sixth game of 80-or-better against a conference foe, which is the most by an Ole Miss squad in single season program history. Sira Thienou and Christeen Iwuala provided strong depth assistance from the bench, scoring 13 and 11 points, respectively. Thienou shot 5-for-6 from the field while securing a steal and five rebounds.

Earning her 76th steal this year, the mark tied her with Armintie Price for the second-most steals in a single season by an Ole Miss freshman. Tameiya Sadler secured three steals, which led all players in the game, to put her north of 50 for the season. She joined Thienou and Starr Jacobs to form a trio of Rebels with at least 50 steals this season. This marks the first time since the 2006-07 season that a Rebel team had three players at the half-century mark for steals in a season.

After Mississippi State scored six unanswered to open the game, Sadler and Todd-Williams both converted an and-one to match the score. The Rebels continued the score while shutting down the Bulldogs in the first, ultimately finishing their run with 11 points while holding MSU scoreless for over four consecutive minutes. The teams went bucket-for-bucket for the remainder of the quarter, as the Rebels took a 19-15 lead into the second after Scott scored a layup at the buzzer.

Thienou drained a three to start the second quarter, her second of the day. Her three jump started a 23-point second quarter for the Rebels, who missed only three shots in the second. Ole Miss formed a balanced attack from the front and back court, headlined by Scott and Thienou adding five points each. Scott primarily scored from the paint and Thienou spread out the defense from longer range. Defensively, Ole Miss allowed only three players on Mississippi State to score in the second quarter, while forcing six turnovers.

Thienou’s strong second quarter concluded with her picking off a pass from MSU’s Destiney McPhaul and finding Sadler for an open three. Sadler’s 3-pointer, her second of the quarter, gave the Rebels a 42-35 lead at the conclusion of the first half. The Rebels kept the Bulldogs from adding to the scoreboard for the final two-and-a-half minutes of the period, as four Rebels scored at least eight points in the opening 20 minutes. Iwuala kept the Rebels on track in the third quarter, getting two second chance layups off two offensive rebounds.

Thienou became the first Rebel in double figures with a smooth jumper from the top of the key, Scott then quickly followed with her second 3-point play of the game. The Rebels prioritized extending offensive possessions for the remainder of the third quarter, as they secured four offensive rebounds. Each of these rebounds led to second chance points for the Rebels.

Thienou made her third 3-pointer of the game to propel the Rebels into their largest lead of the night, as they entered the fourth with a 65-56 lead. Ole Miss quickly got back onto the scoreboard to give it a double-digit lead to start the fourth and were ultimately too much for Mississippi State to handle.

The Rebels once again outscored the Bulldogs in the quarter, adding 20 points to their final tally. Ole Miss held MSU’s top scorer, Jerkaila Jordan, to only two fourth quarter points while Todd-Williams had her most productive 10 minutes with eight points. She had five rebounds in the quarter and drained the last field goal of the game with less than a minute remaining, fashioning the final score of 85-73.

Ole Miss is back in action on Friday, March 7, as it takes on the top-ranked team in the country, Texas, which holds the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Tipoff is at 5 p.m. CT and will air on SEC Network.