Madison Scott’s Performance, Leadership Helps Propel Ole Miss Women’s Basketball to 67-55 Win over Marquette in NCAA Tourney
NOTRE DAME, Ind. ― Ole Miss women’s basketball defeated Marquette in first-round NCAA tournament action Saturday, 67-55. And the Rebels did so, in large part, because Madison Scott simply continues to put her team on her back, doing anything she can to get her team the win.
Scott finished with a game-high 20 points, six rebounds and four assists.
“Just doing whatever my team needs me to do, scoring, rebounding, just leading. Anything for us to be successful, I’m going to do that,” Scott said after the win.
Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s team was up by three at the half, but pushed that to the 12-point final advantage largely through Scott’s performance and the team’s suffocating defense.
“...Coming out in the second half, we just made the decision to get back to who we are. And going into the fourth quarter, I said, y’all, we hadn’t had a quarter when we kept them 12 or less yet. And as you can see, we held them to nine points. We just shifted into that next gear of being exactly who we are, and we started having a lot of fun out there because of it.“
Coach Yo on her team’s defensive performance in the second half
Tyia Singleton notched a season-best performance with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Ole Miss (24-8, 12-4 SEC) will now advance to the second round in consecutive seasons and for the 13th season. The Rebels will face Notre Dame, winners over Kent State, Saturday.
Scott praised her teammates for their play and the contributions made by so many.
“We trust each other out there. All of us have a role that we talked about, and tonight it was just an example of us doing our roles. We know that we needed everybody to win, so everybody put things in the bag. Everything just helped. Everybody helped get this W tonight. So I’m extremely proud of my teammates.“
Madison Scott on the team win
It was a back-and-forth affair that saw Ole Miss with a slim 36-33 lead over Marquette (23-9, 11-7 BIG EAST) at the half.
But the Rebels’ defense took over in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Golden Eagles 18-9 to seal the win.
Scott’s 20 points marked the fifth time she’s hit that mark this season. Rita Igbowke notched nine overall rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. For the ninth consecutive game, Kennedy Todd-Williams recorded double figures in scoring with 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
The Rebel bench made its presence known, scoring 12 in the game. Kharyssa Richardson led the reserves with 10 of those points, marking her sixth game this season in double-digits.
Marquette started off quickly, and the Rebels found themselves behind 16-14 through the first period.
But Ole Miss would mark its highest-scoring quarter of the game in the second, adding 22 points. The Rebels went on a 10-0 run in the early minutes of the period and used defensive pressure to lead to offensive points and go up by as many as six.
At the half, Ole Miss led 36-33.
Scott talked further about her teammates’ contributions and what that means to the team.
“Well, Team 49 has depth. Strength in numbers. I just think that we’ve always preached it takes everybody, 1 through 15. 1 through 15 is capable of coming and impacting the game. So we’ve been really trying to be intentional about being ready when our number is called. That’s what Tyia did tonight. That’s what Kharyssa did tonight. That’s what everybody on that bench is capable of doing. We’re here for a reason. Team 49 is here. And everybody is ready to do whatever it takes to win. So I’m extremely proud of them, and let’s keep it going.”
Madison Scott
As the Rebels faced a scoring drought, the Golden Eagles snuck back ahead midway through the third frame. Back-to-back buckets from Ole Miss pushed the Rebels back in front, as Scott and Richardson controlled the pace by holding Marquette scoreless for close to four minutes. Forcing six Marquette turnovers in the quarter, Ole Miss maintained a narrow margin ahead at 49-46.
Locking down Marquette’s ability to score, Ole Miss led by as many as 11 in the closing quarter to begin to put away the game. Holding Marquette to one field goal within the last two minutes, Ole Miss ran away with the 67-55 win to advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Yo was asked about the second-round opponents Notre Dame.
“Notre Dame is legit,” she explained.
“They’re a bunch of ballers. The head of the stake, Hidalgo, is a dawg. And I mean that respectfully. They know how to win…We expect a fight to get to the Sweet 16. We expect them to bring their A game, and I expect Team 49 to bring their A game. We are really excited about the opportunity.“
Coach Yo
Next Up
The Rebels meet host No. 2 Notre Dame for the first meeting between the schools on Monday (March 25), with time and television network to be announced.
(Feature image credit: Karis Chambliss, The Rebel Walk)
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
