Coach Yo discusses Ole Miss’ 64-58 loss to Louisville: ‘We will continue to grow and build’
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss women’s basketball head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin met with the media after the Rebels’ 64-58 loss to Louisville on Wednesday.
Against the Cardinals, the Rebels had trouble at the free-throw line.
“Fifteen missed free throws,” McPhee-McCuin said. “2-for-12 in the fourth quarter. We outrebounded them. I thought our defense, it was a chess match.”
Coach Yo added that her team did not shoot well from behind the arc. The Rebs went 1-for-11 from three-point range.
Louisville went on a run in the third quarter and scored 22 in the period.
“There was a span we gave up 22 points in the third quarter,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I swear to y’all it looked like if the points they were getting were from the free throw line. We couldn’t come up with the rebound, the ball at the right time,” she explained.
“That’s just like us learning how to play with this new team. When we figure it out we will be where we need to be. I can’t compare it to Oklahoma because with Oklahoma we had KK Deans. If we had KK Deans tonight, I like my chances. I still like my chances but this is a new team.”
Coach Yo
Coach Yo added this is the Rebels’ second time playing as a new team.
“This is our second loss to a ranked team that will be in the NCAA Tournament,” McPhee-McCuin said.
“There were a ton of things I liked moving forward. We will continue to grow and build. Really a confidence booster for me. That’s a program that always finds their way into the Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight.“
Coach Yo on her team
“I like where we are headed,” she said. “Even though we lost, this is my new team and when we figure it out we will get the results that we want.”
Coming into the matchup with Louisville Coach Yo discussed how the team that imposed its will would win.
“We just had a breakdown in that span of them getting the rebound off the free throw,” McPhee-McCuin said. “We kept fouling and one of our goals was not to put them in the bonus and the officials called fouls. The officials called fouls and they got two free throws that they didn’t have to work for.”
Louisville had eight more attempts from the line than Ole Miss in the game.
“I knew it was something,” she said. “Whether we rebounded and had 14 offensive rebounds to only four second-chance points. Then they got a huge second-chance rebound and broke our back with that three at the top of the key.”
Louisville left Oxford with a record of 7-1 on the young season after eight games.
“They have played all eight games together; we’ve played two,” McPhee-McCuin said.
“If I had my team that had all those games together I would have enjoyed this game more. That’s why I am proud of my team. In my mind, we are in game two. Because these are the cards that are dealt. No more KK, so this is what it is and yet we still had a chance and just couldn’t put it together when we needed to — and we will.”
Coach Yo
Adam Brown
Adam Brown joins The Rebel Walk as the Managing Editor after being on the Ole Miss beat as a Sports Editor for over 11 years. He is a lifelong Oxford resident. Brown graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Prior to The Rebel Walk, Brown was the sports editor of HottyToddy.com covering every Ole Miss sport and local high school sports in the community.
