Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Fights Hard, Comes Up Short to LSU in SEC Tournament Semifinals
GREENVILLE — A day after outlasting Florida in a four-quarter thriller, Ole Miss’ SEC tournament run came to an end. The Rebels made it to the semifinals of the tournament before falling to LSU on Saturday night, 75-67.
The game was close all the way into the fourth quarter where the defending national champion Tigers found a second wind to book their ticket to the tournament finals against South Carolina Sunday.
“I thought it was a fought-hard game,” Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said afterward. “I thought both teams really competed for 40 minutes. I thought you’re not going to hear any crying from me about the officiating or anything like that. I thought it was a well-officiated game for the most part,” she added.
“Nevertheless, we take our wins together and we take our losses together. I wish I could have a couple plays back. I would have done some things differently. But we’ll rest up, go home and get ready for the tournament, the NCAA tournament.“
Coach Yo after the loss to LSUÂ
The Rebels now wait to see where their name will be called on Selection Sunday, March 17. ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme had Ole Miss as a 7-seed Saturday morning.
Against LSU, the Rebels connected on 44% of their FG attempts (25-57) which was actually a higher rate than LSU (42%), but fell short as the Tigers converted more attempts at the line and had a little bit more success from the perimeter.
Ole Miss was led by the trio of Madison Scott, Marquesha Davis, and Kennedy Todd-Williams. Scott scored a game-high 22-points on 8-14 shooting while also adding seven rebounds and four assists. Davis added 21 points and five rebounds. Todd-Williams scored 16 points, 14 of which came in the second half.
Starting off, it was clear to see the difference in strategies between the two teams. Early on in the first quarter, LSU wanted to get the ball inside the paint and leaned heavily on the trio of Flau’Jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow, and Angel Reese to do so. Ole Miss, on the other hand, wanted to take advantage of a thin LSU team and get out and run in transition — a strategy that has worked well for Ole Miss this year.
The Rebels did start off slow, but Madison Scott would not let things get out of hand as she sparked a 5-0 run herself to bring things back to a one-possession game.
LSU would take advantage of a late scoring drought by Ole Miss, who struggled to find the bottom of the net to end the quarter, making only one of the Rebels’ last seven attempts. This gave LSU a 19-12 lead at the end of the quarter.
Following up on the gameplan, Ole Miss really started to use the transition game in the second quarter and tried to speed up LSU on defense with some 3/4 court pressure. This created some back-and-forth scoring for both teams and LSU countered by going to a 2-3 zone.
At halftime, the Rebels had leaned heavily on the duo of Madison Scott and Marquesha Davis, who accounted for 21 of the Rebels’ 28 points. LSU had a more balanced scoring approach with the 34-28 lead.
After a 9-3 start to the second half, Ole Miss would cut the LSU lead down to two before Madison Scott took a charge that resembled the momentum building on Ole Miss’ side. In the celebration, Kennedy Todd-Williams was called for a technical foul that sent Hailey Van Lith to the line, sparking a mini 4-0 run to get the Tiger lead back out to six.
The Rebels would find a 6-0 run, thanks to some help from a 2-2-1 press and quick pace that would cause the Tiger lead to dwindle to one. The six-point swing was largely due to the duo of Davis and Scott.
LSU would take the lead in the fourth quarter, leaning heavily on SEC player of the year Angel Reese. She accounted for five points on a 7-0 LSU run to give the Tigers a nine-point cushion that it would hold until the end of the game.
A scary moment occurred in the fourth quarter as Madison Scott attacked for a layup and LSU’s Last-Tear Poa contested it to take a charge. Poa hit her head on the court after the charge and had to receive medical attention before being taken away on a stretcher to a local hospital.
Yolett McPhee-McCuin Calls for Change
In her postgame press conference, Coach Yo mentioned the play regarding Poa and suggested there be a change in the rules to protect player safety.
“I do think that something has to be done with this whole block-charge thing. It was unfortunate to see Last-Tear go down. There needs to be a rule and then people won’t slide under people. I’ve seen it happen twice. If we’re trying to protect players, then why don’t we make the rule? That was dangerous. She was trying to make a play. Right now the rule says no matter where you are on the floor, attempt to get up under someone and take a charge. Then she had to go out on a stretcher. So something has to be done with that rule. It’s simple. If we’re trying to protect players, let’s protect players. That’s not the officials’ fault. It’s the rule that’s wrong, all right?“
Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin on the block/charge rule
Zakiya Stephenson Logs Big Minutes and a Bigger Experience
Ole Miss freshman point guard Zakiya Stephenson was a late insertion into the lineup as Snudda Collins did not play (coach’s decision), and she logged 24 minutes of action. It was the fourth start for the freshman and one that saw her go up against an experienced LSU back court. Stephenson added four points, two assists and a rebound in her time on the court.
Coach Yo discussed the play of her young point guard and the experience she gained from the game.
“She’s a freshman. They want her to do something that KK Deans would do. And then I didn’t play Snudda (Collins), so then I don’t have Toddy (Kennedy Todd-Williams) there. I vividly remember five possessions. We had something drawn up, and it did not go the way we had it drawn up. But at the same time, too, this was a last-minute change for me to put Zakiya in. It’s like no blame. It’s just great experience. There were moments I wish Zakiya was a little older, you know (smiling)? She would have been different. But she’s not. This is valuable minutes for her. She’s a freshman, so… It will pay off in the long run, maybe in the tournament.”
Coach Yo on Zakiya Stephenson
Still time to Grow
Ole Miss will use this time before March Madness begins to reflect and learn from the experience at the SEC tournament. The games are a unique way to get that feeling on a neutral court with minimal time to prepare and see the strategy of it all come out. This will be valuable for the upcoming NCAA tournament where the first two weekends happen so quickly and things are ever-changing.
Madison Scott was asked about tournament preparation and explained what the team will be doing.
“Just working on things that we need to work on. Continuing to get better, continuing to grow. We don’t know who we play yet, but that doesn’t mean that Ole Miss can’t get better. (We’ll be) working on ourselves so we can come and be ready to go against whoever.“
Madison Scott on NCAA tournament prep
Next Up
Ole Miss will have a week to prepare before the Rebels find out where the next stop will be as Selection Sunday will take place on March 17th. The event will be broadcast on ESPN and begins at 7:00 PM CT. Stay tuned for information about a Watch Party in the SJB Pavilion.
TJ Oxley
TJ Oxley is the Vice President of Operations and the Director of Community Relations for The Rebel Walk. He is also the Director of Basketball Content and Senior Basketball Writer. He has over five years of experience providing in-depth analysis of college basketball through multiple platforms. A former MBA graduate of Ole Miss, TJ started with The Rebel Walk in 2019.
