Ole Miss women’s basketball looks to continue improving before SEC play begins
OXFORD, Miss. – Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s Rebel basketball squad has four games left until SEC play opens, beginning with a date with Jacksonville State this Sunday.
She says she and her staff are still in the process of figuring out her team.
“I am just learning what our team needs to work on,” McPhee-McCuin said at her press conference Thursday. “I don’t have [rotations] quite figured out yet. I want to have it figured out by the time we get to conference. I am still learning about our new players, too.”
The Rebels are currently coming off a 69-59 loss on the road against No. 23 Oklahoma last weekend, and they sit at 7-2 on the season. However, even with the losses, Coach Yo has figured out one thing about her collective unit which accurately explains the identity of her team.
“Our team does not have a superstar. We want to be a superteam.”
Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin
Coach Yo explained that the losses to Utah and Oklahoma were vital for the formation of this “superteam” as opposed to playing a cupcake schedule before SEC play.
Senior guard Myah Taylor shared this same “superteam” optimism as her head coach.
“Once everybody buys into their roles, it is going to make us that much harder to beat because you will never know whose night it’s going to be. It is going to take us very far, especially in the SEC. They can’t just focus on one player. They will have to focus on all of us.”
Senior guard Myah Taylor
The defense for the Rebels has been consistent throughout the first nine games of the season, and Coach Yo was shocked at how quickly her new players have caught on to her system.
“I am really surprised how farther along our defense is because it is a system, and the buy-in takes a while,” McPhee-McCuin. “The buy-in has been incredible.”
The Rebels have only given up an average of 51.8 points per game against their nine opponents this season. In the team’s two losses, the Rebels held Utah and Oklahoma to season-low point totals.
With this final stretch before conference play beginning on Sunday, Coach Yo told her team exactly what she expects from them before facing Auburn on December 29th.
“The two things I told my team this morning that I am going to judge them on and evaluate them on these next four games are togetherness and toughness,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I know Jacksonville State, my old stomping grounds JU [Jacksonville], McNeese, and Temple on the road [will] test both of those things, which we need, but I like where we are.”
Next Up
The Rebels will look to improve before SEC play starting this Sunday against Jacksonville State at the SJB Pavilion in Oxford. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on SEC Network.
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Trevor Terminie
Trevor is a senior at Ole Miss pursuing a degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Sports Communication and Promotion. He has previous experience covering sports for another site, including a variety of Ole Miss sports. Growing up in New Orleans, La., he has the Pelicans and Saints running through his blood. He also grew up in an LSU family, but his love for Ole Miss continues to grow. Trevor hopes to cover sports back in his hometown after college. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
