Rebels’ magical tournament run ends in Sweet 16 with 72-62 loss to Louisville
SEATTLE – The Ole Miss women’s basketball team’s season officially came to an end in the Sweet Sixteen in a 72-62 loss to the five-seed Louisville Cardinals Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
The eight-seed Rebels’ magical run in the 2023 NCAA Tournament ended after they captured the nation’s attention by defeating one-seed Stanford in the second round. They will now enter the sixth offseason under Coach Yo after finishing the 2022-23 season at 25-9 overall, 11-5 in SEC play.
In the first quarter, the Rebel defense struggled, which was an anomaly in the tournament. The Cardinals shot 46% from the field while also getting a boost from their bench, scoring 11 of the Cardinals’ 20 points.
However, an eight-point first quarter from Ole Miss guard Marquesha Davis kept the Rebels within striking distance. They headed into the second frame with a 20-15 deficit.
The deficit would grow to nine to start the second quarter for the Rebels, but an 8-0 run in the fastbreak got Ole Miss within one, 24-23. After a three-pointer from Louisville, guard Myah Taylor got hot from three-point range, draining two in a row, giving the Rebs a 29-27 lead. She would finish with eight points in the second quarter and 10 points in the first half.
However, that lead would not last long, as the Cardinals finished the first half on a 7-0 run, as Ole Miss did not score in the final 3:41 of the half. The Rebels took a 34-29 deficit into the halftime break, marking the first time in the NCAA Tournament that they trailed after two quarters.
Overall, Ole Miss shot 36% from the field in the first half, while giving up 46% FGs to the Cardinals. They also shot 3-10 from the three-point line. However, the big number was off the bench, as the Cardinals outscored the Rebels, 17-2.
Davis matched Taylor to lead Ole Miss in scoring in the first half with 10 points. Guard Angel Baker (4 points), forward Tyia Singleton (3 points) and guard Snudda Collins (2 points) accounted for the other nine points for the Rebels.
Louisville’s hot shooting continued in the third quarter, as they made 47% of their field goals. This was combined with a poor shooting quarter from Ole Miss, as the Rebels made only four shots on 13 attempts.
The Cardinals outscored Ole Miss 18-13 in the third, ballooning their lead to its largest of the game, 52-42. The Rebels did not allow 50 points in a full game against their other two tournament opponents (48 vs. Gonzaga, 49 vs. Stanford).
Both offenses started cold in the fourth quarter, with each scoring just four points in the first six minutes. Ole Miss would get hot to end the game, as they cut the lead to five-points at its smallest with 2:53 to go in the game, but they did not get any closer.
The Cardinals also got hot in the quarter, finishing the game making their last five shots. Both teams finished the fourth quarter with 20 points, which gave Louisville the 10-point victory.
The Rebel offense shot 37% from the field for the game and 4-15 from the three-point line, with only one of those makes coming in the second half. Taylor and Davis led Ole Miss with 19 points apiece. Baker was the only other Rebel in double-figures with 11 points.
Hindered by foul trouble, forward Madison Scott finished with four points on 1-5 shooting. Forward Tyia Singleton, who fouled out in the fourth quarter, finished with three points.
Defensively, Ole Miss allowed the Cardinals to shoot 46% from the field and 5-12 from three-point range, which is two makes more than the Rebels allowed in the Gonzaga and Stanford games combined (3-24). The Cardinals also outscored Ole Miss off the bench, 27-6.
Rebel head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said postgame that the lack of experience this far into the tournament was the prime reason for the season-ending loss.
“It was our first time, and our players wanted to do so well. Human nature is a beast, man. I just felt like we couldn’t get a hold of the moment and settle in like I wanted us to.”
Coach Yo
More importantly, Coach Yo took the time to reflect on what she called her favorite season as a head coach. She thought back to her team’s expectations at the beginning of the year to explain just how well her team exceeded them.
“If you had asked me in November, ‘Coach, you all lost 61% of your starters, your offense and a lottery pick, but we think you are going to go to the Sweet Sixteen,’ I would’ve checked you to see if you were on drugs. This team felt different, and, throughout the whole season, fought, got better, learned, trusted, bought-in and believed in everything that we were asking.”
Coach Yo
She also said that the 25-9 season and the March Madness run has officially put Ole Miss women’s basketball on the map.
“Everybody knows who Ole Miss women’s basketball is, and I don’t know if they knew who Ole Miss women’s basketball was before this, and that is because of Team 48,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Let’s normalize Ole Miss being on these types of stages because it’s truly no ceilings.”
Coach Yo said that the love within the program is what she is going to remember most about Team 48.
“I am not a feeler, but my team is full of feelers,” McPhee-McCuin said.
“They softened me up, and they taught me how to be a better coach and to meet my players where they are at. When I tell you that this has been my best experience probably in my 10 years of being a head coach, I mean it. I just love this team, and I am going to be so much better because of them.”
Coach Yo
Myah Taylor, who had her season-high in points Friday night in her final collegiate game, said they exceeded the goals they set for themselves this season, which included getting through the first round of the NCAA Tournament,
“This year, with the things that we have been able to do, it has just been incredible. People counted us out. We wrote goals down, and one of them was being ranked. We didn’t get ranked, but see where we are now. We made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Ole Miss basketball, it doesn’t stop here.”
Myah Taylor
The Rebels will now begin to conquer their next opponent: recruiting. Coach Yo said she is excited to use the transfer portal and her incoming freshmen to make the program even better.
“The new standard for us is Sweet Sixteen,” McPhee-McCuin said.
“I am the queen-pin in the portal. I have got five star-studded freshmen coming in, and I am about to do damage in the portal, so we will be back.”
Coach Yo
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!
