With 22 overall wins, 12 of which were against SEC teams, the Lady Rebels have been placed as the No. 3 seed heading into the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, leaving Rebel fans with high hopes for what is to come. The top four seeds get two automatic byes in the tournament, a position that is highly coveted.
It is safe to say that the Ole Miss Women’s Basketball team has a solid chance of winning it all, especially after finishing the season on a six-game winning streak. The Rebels have played expertly leading up to the SEC Tournament, with an average margin of victory of 29.3 points in their last four games.
Last year’s SEC Tournament was also successful for the Rebels, but it ended earlier than the team had hoped. Entering as the No. 4 seed, Ole Miss received two automatic byes and faced Texas A&M in their first game, winning 77-60 to advance to the next round. Ole Miss then lost to eventual SEC tournament winner No. 1 University of South Carolina 61-51.
On Sunday, March 3, the Lady Rebels laid an 87-43 win over the University of Arkansas, the largest win over the Razorbacks in school history. With this win, the Lady Rebels made even more Ole Miss history, improving to 12-4, which is the first 12-win SEC season for the women’s basketball program.
Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin achieved a personal record when she won her 100th game in Oxford following a 75-45 win over the University of Kentucky on Thursday, Feb. 29. She has essentially built the program from the ground up, and she wants more recognition for her team.
“I want people to start talking about how good of a team we are. I’m not just talking about on the defensive end, but I’m talking about on both ends of the floor,” McPhee-McCuin said.
After last season’s exhilarating run in March Madness — in which the Lady Rebels upset No. 1 Stanford — Coach Yo and the team now have heightened expectations, both internally and externally.
“I really want to go beyond that (last year’s March Madness run),” McPhee-McCuin said. “I love the hunger, I love the expectation. We are no longer trying to prove something; we are here. Ole Miss Women’s Basketball is here, and that is how we are moving.”
Ole Miss will face the winner of game six, which will be the winner of Vanderbilt versus Missouri or Florida, depending on how their final games of the season fall. The Lady Rebels have already defeated all three of these teams during the regular season.
Tournament play will begin Wednesday, March 6, in Greenville, S.C. Ole Miss will take the court for their tournament debut on Friday, March 8, with tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT.
