Ole Miss women’s basketball beats Tennessee, 80-75, for first win over the Vols since 2017
OXFORD, Miss. – A host of Rebels lit up the box score in the Pavilion Sunday afternoon as Ole Miss beat the Tennessee Lady Volunteers 80-75 in a nail-biter for the Rebels’ first win over Tennessee in the Coach Yo era.
Checkmate ♟️ pic.twitter.com/d4JxUqtGX9
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) January 28, 2024
Coach Yo had this to say post game in regards to her most recent press conference where she issued a plea for fans to support the women’s team.
“I’m just really grateful for everybody that showed up,” McPhee-McCuin began. “If you missed my message (to fans) after the game, one thing I said was that I really need to make myself clear, y’all. I’m an immigrant. I migrated from the Bahamas. I recently just got my citizenship — three years ago. While some of you have homes in different places in America, Oxford is home to me. I pay taxes here. I go to church here. I give back here. I’m in the community here, so as far as I am concerned, I am a citizen of this community. My platform is big and powerful. When I spoke about our community, I meant our community, because I’m a part of it. Every single day I’m at soccer practice and people in the community can tell you that. They know me, and they see me.
“It was a call to action, because I know how special this place is. But I’m also the one that promotes this university, as well. And I can’t promote it without the help of everybody. When everyone is like, ‘Oh, win the national championship,’ well, help me help you. Crowds like this on a consistent basis, we’ll continue to win.”
~ Coach Yo in her opening statement
First half
Following her 20+ point performance last time out versus Florida, Rebel guard Marquesha Davis picked up right where she left off, scoring 8 of the first 12 points for Ole Miss.
Oops she did it again 👀
Que already has 8 points and is shooting 4-5 from the FG! pic.twitter.com/xy3DCUun76
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) January 28, 2024
At the midway point of the first, both squads were answering each other’s baskets with ones on the opposite end almost immediately as the Vols held onto a 16-12 lead.
While Davis caught a breather, the Ole Miss offense slowed just a bit. That was until sophomore Kharyssa Richardson began to knock down some shots, bringing the Rebels back within single digits by the end of the first quarter.
Rich for threeee 👌 pic.twitter.com/lhbgdO30kL
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) January 28, 2024
As soon as the second quarter began, Davis became the first Rebels to enter double-digits. Not far behind her was Richardson, scoring six straight points for the Rebels in the middle of the second quarter to close in on the Lady Vols lead.
Rich drops the bucket 🪣
Rebs have tied it up! pic.twitter.com/yBsWMYdgSM
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) January 28, 2024
Although the Rebel offense was also a bit stagnant at times in the second, Ole Miss did what they do best: defend. Tennessee only scored 12 points in the second after nearly a 30-point first.
Davis spoke about the defensive adjustments after the first quarter.
“I think talking and matching up better with our transition defense. We did much better after the first quarter.“
~ Davis on the Rebel defense after the 1st quarter
With the first half ticking down, Madison Scott got a few shots to fall in the last minute, allowing the Rebels to tie things up at 39 heading to the break.
Madi from mid-range 🔥@IAMMADISCOTT | ESPN pic.twitter.com/3YSmWqtX9D
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) January 28, 2024
Richardson led the way for Ole Miss with 13 points and 3 boards, and Davis added another 10 to the Rebels’ halftime total as well.
Second Half
Coming out of the half, Davis looked like she was ‘shot out of a cannon,’ scoring seven straight points in less than a minute as the Rebels went on a 9-3 run to open the quarter. Ole Miss then took its largest lead of 6 points following a flashy, behind-the-back pass from Davis to Scott.
THE BEHIND THE BACK PASS 🤯🤯@MarqueshaDavis ➡️ @IAMMADISCOTT pic.twitter.com/tw4030Fkpz
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) January 28, 2024
Davis commented postgame on her spectacular play as of late.
“It all starts with my confidence and I have been really confident lately.“
~ Davis on if she sees herself as an elite SEC player
A quick timeout from the Lady Vols followed, allowing the Pavilion to get loud for the home team. Tennessee quickly answered, however, bringing their deficit back within a point in less than 30 seconds.
“I just talked to them about not being afraid to do this. I have to explain to them, you look scared, but I know you’re not afraid of Tennessee. You’re just afraid to fail…There’s an anxiety that young people have, and so I really addressed that about not being afraid to fail because it’s not failing. It’s trying. Not trying is failing…Our goal was, can we hold them to 12 every quarter after that? We couldn’t, but they couldn’t stop us either, so it ended up working out.”
~ Coach Yo on the quick start to the second half
Davis eventually tallied 20 points again for the second straight game, scoring 11 in the third quarter alone.
Ole Miss took a 63-59 lead into the fourth quarter. The Rebels scored 24 points in the third quarter, staying hot on the offensive end just as they had a majority of the game.
Alongside Davis, Scott and Richardson continued their offensive clinics as well. Early in the fourth, Scott drove to the rim, drawing a foul while also getting the shot to fall.
Madi gets AND ONE 😤@IAMMADISCOTT | ESPN pic.twitter.com/XEedja8jHC
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) January 28, 2024
Two minutes later, the 4-point Ole Miss lead turned into the Rebs’ largest of the game once Richardson hit her second three of the night — and perhaps the biggest. The Ole Miss forward also became the second Rebel with 20+ after the deep ball.
Forget we said that… @Kharyssa33 drains the three and now has 2️⃣1️⃣ https://t.co/vQcG4FlcdN pic.twitter.com/mj5jqXech7
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) January 28, 2024
Richardson spoke on the significance of the win during the postgame.
“We haven’t beat Tennessee since 2017…this game meant a lot to us…it meant a lot to her (Coach Yo).“
~ Kharyssa Richardson on beating UT
Despite the offensive onslaught by the Rebels, Tennessee would not give in. The Lady Vols eventually narrowed the Ole Miss lead to just a point, once again, with a minute-and-a-half left to play.
Davis then hit, yet again, another big shot to increase the Rebel lead to three. Shortly after, Kennedy Todd-Williams put the dagger in this one. The UNC transfer hit her defender with the ‘dream-shake’ before getting the bucket to fall.
IT’S ELECTRIC AT SJB 🔋🔋 pic.twitter.com/rAOuW2AXGL
— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) January 28, 2024
Four Rebel players ended the game in double-digits. Davis led Ole Miss with 25 points, adding to her career year. Richardson finished with 21, Todd-Williams added 12 points and 7 assists and Madison Scott finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards.
“It’s the work we put in during the offseason, the transfer portal. We knew we needed offense here…We knew we had offensive deficiency and evidently we still struggled from three. We thought it was important to continue to get great character kids that fit our system and have a little offensive production to go with what we had.”
~ Coach Yo on the offensive performance tonight
Up Next
The Rebels will head to Nashville for the next matchup on Thursday, February 1st to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tipoff is set for 6:30 pm CT on SEC Network+.
Kameron Wicker
Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.
