Ole Miss Women’s Basketball defeated Jackson State 76-44 on Monday, Nov. 18 for the 21st annual Kids Day at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. The match was Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s 200th career win.
“Grateful. For everyone that has been a part of the 200 victories. From players, to coaches, fans, administration,” McPhee-McCuin said on X following the team’s win.
It is fitting that this milestone came on Kids Day. In addition to serving as head coach of the women’s basketball team, McPhee-McCuin has had an impact off the court in the Bahamas and in the Oxford community with NoCeilings, a program that utilizes education and athletics to help children develop.
The coach attributed the team’s many successes to a shared commitment.
“My teams have bought into the four in’s: Believe in, buy in, lock in and be all in and I can confidently say that everyone who has been a part of my teams has adopted that.”
Each year, McPhee-McCuin and the Lady Rebels have improved. The team started at 9-22 overall in 2019. After a brief fall to 7-23 in 2020, the team then went 15-12 in 2021 — making the NCAA tournament for the first time in 16 years. For the 2022 and 2023 seasons the team finished 23-9 and 25-9, respectively.
The head coach’s best win is, by far, the upset of the No. 1 seeded Stanford Cardinals in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Rebels fell to Louisville 62-52 in the following round, but this win was a statement win, proving that Ole Miss is here to stay in the women’s basketball world.
This season, the team was ranked in the AP Poll Preseason Top 25, opening up their season in Paris against the No. 2 USC Trojans. While they did fall short 68-66, the Rebels fought till the last second, leading for the majority of the final quarter.
McPhee-McCuin has also produced WNBA talent, as two players, Shakira Austin and Marquesha Davis, were both drafted in the First Round of the 2024 WNBA Draft.
