Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Defeats Arizona, 56-47, in the Semifinals of the Battle for Atlantis
No. 23 Ole Miss women’s basketball took down the undefeated Arizona Wildcats, 56-47, down in the Bahamas in the semifinals of the Battle of Atlantis.
“This is a team (Arizona), a program that has been to the final four,” Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said.
“No matter that they’re (Arizona) not ranked, it’s a big win for our program. I was super proud of our team. They just really believed in the game plan — that we put in in the wee hours of the night… — and they executed beautifully.”
Coach Yo on her team’s win
Ole Miss (4-1) was led in the game by Marquesha Davis with 17 points.
MARQUESHA. DAVIS. 🤯🤯https://t.co/sPshywZm8G | @FloHoops pic.twitter.com/XQisn3I0a3
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 19, 2023
A total of three different Rebels scored in double digits: KK Deans added 13 points and Madison Scott scored 10.
“KK is relentless. Yesterday, she was in the gym at 7:00 am getting shots,” McPhee-McCuin said of her point guard.
“This is someone committed to helping her team win. This is someone who shot a better three-point percentage than anyone on our team. She’s had a 30-point game against LSU last year. But it’s not about points for her, it’s about winning. She wants to be coached by me….she is totally about the team.“
Coach Yo on KK Deans
KK with the pullup 🗑️https://t.co/sPshywZm8G | @FloHoops pic.twitter.com/vmwETiUoOy
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 19, 2023
Scott had her second double-double in back-to-back games with 10 rebounds.
“I had to show my team I have their back always,” Scott said after the win.
Madi doing what Madi does best ⛹️♀️https://t.co/sPshywZm8G | @FloHoops pic.twitter.com/AMjE8jwvyk
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 19, 2023
Arizona (5-1 ) was led by Maya Nnaji with 12 points.
“That was the biggest team we’ve seen this season,” McPhee-McCuin said. “
We were trying to play their game because that’s our game…but they were so big and long and it kind of got us rattled. Our identity is defense. Luckily for that, we were able to keep them low-scoring….when we went into halftime, I told them: ‘y’all it’s only a three-possession game…’ Our zone held up — that we just put in last night.“
Coach Yo
The Rebels kept the Wildcats low-scoring all game and only allowed them to score 14 in the fourth.
“Defense is our identity…they were just pounding it inside,” McPhee-McCuin said.
“We have size…so we may be a little bit of a zone team this year. You discover things in these tournaments. We did try to wear them out. I played 10 people. We were just trying to get up and down the floor…“
Coach Yo
At halftime, Ole Miss trailed Arizona 22-16.
In the third quarter, Ole Miss went on a 13-0 run to take the lead, 39-25, and never gave the lead back to Arizona.
That’s how you start the third quarter! @MarqueshaDavis
https://t.co/sPshywZm8G | @FloHoops pic.twitter.com/lbLE0Jcz4r
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) November 19, 2023
Ole Miss outscored Arizona 25-11 in the third quarter. The Rebels held Arizona to 11 points in each of the first three quarters except for the fourth when the Wildcats scored 14.
The Rebels are playing in the Bahamas for the second year in a row and on Monday they will play for the Battle of Atlantis Championship.
“We could have gone a lot of places…shout out to my administration….This is back-to-back tournaments in the Bahamas….I chose to bring my team back to the 242. We need people in the gym tomorrow. I don’t make the shots, I don’t make the passes, but no one reps the 242 more than I do consistently every single day. If it’s my team, it’s your team. Come out and help will us to a championship.“
Coach Yo
Ole Miss will play either Michigan or South Dakota for the championship. Tipoff for the title game is Monday at 11:00 a.m. CT.
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.
