Ole Miss Women’s Basketball’s Coach Yo Breaks Down Crucial Win at Mississippi State

Ole Miss Rebels women’s basketball has found ways to overcome adversity this season.

The Rebels entered the year ranked No. 20 in the nation before losing a nail-biter to USC in Paris to open up the season and suffering close losses to NC State, UConn, Texas A&M and Alabama. But despite that, the Rebels have won two straight in SEC play, earning a 4-2 mark in the conference, good for fifth place.

Despite some close losses, that didn’t affect the Rebels on Sunday as Ole Miss took down rival Mississippi State 71-63 in Starkville.

“Incredible atmosphere today. It’s like a rivalry game should be,” head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said in an interview postgame. “We’re no stranger to it. I’m really happy for this group.”

Although the Rebels currently sit unranked, a solid month and a half remain in conference play. And a winning record in one of the toughest conferences in basketball is nothing to look down on.

“Every year, every season, there’s a turning point, something happens that defines your team and who they want to be for the rest of the season,” Coach Yo said. “If you’ve followed us, we’ve been in close game, lost some, been ahead, been behind. But this we we had to ‘gut out,’ and we knew that.”

The Rebels have been within eight points in all five of their losses, with the biggest losses (seven points) coming against then-No. 2 UConn and NC State, both nationally-ranked teams as of the most recent AP Poll. The Rebels are one of the most competitive teams in the SEC, and Sunday’s win showed that. There is still plenty of time for the 2024 Ole Miss women’s basketball team to write its story.

The next chapter comes next Sunday as the Rebels host No. 7 Texas in the SJB Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN.