Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s eighth season with the Ole Miss Women’s Basketball team was a strong one. The Lady Rebels finished 24-12 (8-8 SEC), and they won three games against AP Top 5 opponents. However, their season ended in the round of 32.
The Lady Rebels ended the season No. 21 in the final AP poll. This season marked the first time since 1995-96 that they were ranked in every weekly AP poll.
Nonconference dominance
The Lady Rebels began the season lighting up the scoreboards. Their first victory was a 96-36 win over Southern Arkansas in an exhibition game.
Their nonconference play was highlighted by wins against Longwood and Mississippi Valley State during which they scored over 100 points, along with a 69-62 win over then-No. 18 Notre Dame.
They lost two games during the nonconference stretch. The first was a 60-61 defeat against Kansas State, and the other was a 49-66 loss against then-No. 24 Michigan State.
Early conference success
The SEC was one of the toughest conferences in NCAA women’s basketball this season. During one weekly AP poll, a record-high 10 SEC teams were ranked inside the Top 25.
Ole Miss started off conference play with a home victory over Georgia, 79-62.
The Rebels then faced ranked matchups against the SEC’s newest members, then-No. 2 Texas and then-No. 5 Oklahoma. The Lady Rebels proved that they could compete against the top teams in the conference; though they suffered a 64-67 loss against the Longhorns, they defeated the Sooners, 74-69.
The Lady Rebels then defeated Mississippi State, 93-68. McPhee-McCuin that this victory over a rival was, by nature, important for her and the team.
“When I first came to Ole Miss, one of the things I understood was, one, they want us to win and they want us to win big, and second, we don’t lose to Mississippi State,” McPhee- McCuin said in a press conference on Jan. 11. “One of the goals we had was to respect the rivalry … and I hope you saw we respect the rivalry enough to put some belt to a– today.”
The Lady Rebels stumbled in their next game, a rematch against Georgia. They lost, 59-82 — their largest defeat of the season up to this point. However, they rebounded later in the week with a 82-61 against Missouri.
Winter Storm Fern strikes
After Winter Storm Fern swept through Oxford in late January, the Lady Rebels were forced to postpone their home matchup against then-No. 15 Tennessee and relocate to Birmingham, Ala. for two neutral site matchups.
They won both games, defeating then-No. 5 Vanderbilt 83-75 and toppling Auburn 71-45. These wins testified to the Lady Rebels adaptability. In a postgame press conference, forward Christeen Iwuala dedicated the team’s performance to those suffering in Oxford.
“The energy that we had today, and the reason why we’re doing it — we’re doing it for the city of Oxford,” Iwuala said in a postgame interview on Jan. 30. “We had a really rough patch, a really rough winter storm, so we’re doing it for the city of Oxford.”
The Lady Rebels then lost to then-No. 21 Alabama by a single point, 63-64, but got back in the win column with an 80-57 win over Arkansas on Feb. 12.
End of SEC play lull
Winter Storm Fern’s effects extended beyond the span of two weeks when classes were canceled in Oxford. Ole Miss’ matchup against Tennessee was rescheduled for Feb. 17, meaning that the Lady Rebels had to play four ranked opponents within a span of eight days.
The gauntlet began on Feb. 15 with a matchup at No. 18 Kentucky. The Lady Rebels suffered a 57-74 loss.
Two days later, the Rebels bounced back against then-No. 21 Tennessee, 94-81. Forward Cotie McMahon had a career-high 39 points and set a record for most points scored in a single game in The Sandy and John Black Pavillion. During this outing, she also surpassed the mark of 2,000 total points in her college career.
However, Ole Miss guard Sira Thienou was forced to leave the game with a knee injury. She would not return until the NCAA Tournament.
The Lady Rebels returned to The Pavilion on Feb. 19 to face No. 7 LSU. The Lady Rebels began the fourth quarter ahead, 63-54, but LSU outscored the Lady Rebels 24-7 in the last 10 minutes and won, 78-70.
In the last game of the stretch, Ole Miss faced perhaps its toughest opponent yet: then-No. 3 South Carolina. The Gamecocks won, 85-48.
After this, the Lady Rebels’ skid continued. They dropped their two remaining regular season games against Florida and Texas A&M, both unranked opponents.
SEC Tournament
Ole Miss earned the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament, clinching a first round bye. In the second round, they defeated No. 15 seed Auburn, 73-57.
In the quarterfinals, they faced No. 2 seed Vanderbilt, who was ranked No. 5 in the country. For the second time this season, the Lady Rebels defeated the Commodores. This win also earned Ole Miss its fifth straight appearance in the SEC Tournament semifinals, where the Lady Rebels were slated to play No. 3 seed (No. 4 nationally) Texas.
Despite 20-point outings from both McMahon and guard Denim DeShields, the Lady Rebels were outscored in every quarter. Texas star Madison Booker scored 31 points and led the Longhorns to an 85-68 victory.
NCAA Tournament
Ole Miss earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team traveled to Minneapolis, Minn., the same region as No. 4 seed Minnesota.
In their first contest, the Lady Rebels defeated the No. 12 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs, 81-66. However, Ole Miss’ season ended in the round of 32 after a 63-65 defeat at the hands of Minnesota.
Though the Lady Rebels posted three AP Top 5 wins, they ultimately could not string together a run in the Big Dance — an underwhelming result for a squad that was consistently ranked within the Top 25.
What’s next?
McPhee-McCuin will have to reload the roster. Sophomores Tianna Thompson and J’Adore Young have already entered the transfer portal. Seven seniors are graduating: McMahon, Iwuala, Deshields, Latasha Lattimore, Jayla Murray, Kaitlin Peterson and Debreasha Powe.
The only returnees are Sira Thienou, Lauren Jacobs and Desrae Kyles.
McPhee-McCuin is known for her prowess in the portal, especially after she landed McMahon last season, one of the top transfers.
