TRANSCRIPT: Everything Coach Yo, Marquesha Davis and Kennedy Todd-Williams said after Ole Miss’ SEC tourney win over Florida

GREENVILLE –– Ole Miss women’s basketball defeated Florida, 84-74, in the semifinal round of the SEC tournament Friday night.

After the game, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and players Kennedy Todd-Williams and Marquesha Davis met with media to discuss the win. Here’s everything they had to say.

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the press conference for Ole Miss. We’ll begin with an opening statement from Coach.

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: “Incredible game, incredible game. We knew that Florida would really push us. It has not been a walk in the park anytime we’ve played them. Super talented. They have a lot of experience. People try to say, Oh, it’s their third game, it’s tough. Once you get rolling, it’s about will in tournament time. So we didn’t fall for the banana in the tailpipe at all. We were prepared to play a game like this. We just knew at some point we needed to sit down and stay true to ourselves, which was on the defensive end. Super proud of a lot of performances by obviously Marquesha, my big three, Madison Scott, KennedyTodd-Williams. But I thought my freshmen and sophomores came in and did some really good things.That was huge for us.

“All in all, excited about another opportunity to be in the semifinals. I think it’s three years in a row. Two? Three? Three years in a row. Ole Miss women’s basketball is here.”

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Kennedy, as the anchor of the Ole Miss backcourt, what was your game plan to keep Aliyah slowed down as the game went on?

KENNEDY TODD-WILLIAMS: “Yeah, it was really just to make her see bodies, really stop the ball. Just keep her in front. She’s a tough guard. We had to just lock into the defensive end and really just be there for the drive and for her threes, just contest all shots.”

Q. Marquesha, obviously box score says enough about the incredible game you had. At any point did it feel like you and Aliyah were fighting, trying to see who would prevail for their team? How did you feel about your own individual performance?

MARQUESHA DAVIS: “I felt good about it. I felt like I was very intentional on getting to the basket. When I was intentional, I was able to get the drives that I got.”

Q. Kennedy, can you touch on how incredible it is to play alongside someone that can drop 33.

KENNEDY TODD-WILLIAMS: “Marquesha, she’s tough. She’s a first round draft pick, for sure. But she’s tough. Like stop sleeping on her. Honestly. Que is very fun to play with. Getting the outlets to her, EPAs, it’s super huge because she’s able to score on all three levels. As an experienced player, it’s fun to play alongside Marquesha.”

Q. Coach was talking about playing a team three times. What helped you today to beat Florida three times?

KENNEDY TODD-WILLIAMS: “Yeah, just staying disciplined, trusting who we are. Defense wins games. Defense travels. We can’t rely on our offense all the time. It’s a neutral site. We’re not going to get the calls we want to get. It’s about staying true to who we are, doubling down on the defensive end.”

Q. You finished the game on a 14-3 run. How were you able to stay that disciplined?

KENNEDY TODD-WILLIAMS: “Keeping that composure. Not getting too high, too low, keeping steady. Just holding onto each other and playing together as a team to come out with the win.”

THE MODERATOR: Ladies, thank you. You can be dismissed.

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: Que, I got a question. Why did you miss seven free throws? You would have had 40 (laughter).

THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions now for Coach.

Q. You just mentioned four years in a row that you’ve won a game in the SEC tournament. What makes your team so effective in the SEC tournament?

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: “My mentors always told me that you have to have your team singing Kumbaya in March. Doesn’t matter what happens in January, doesn’t matter what happens in February, it’s up to the head coach to make sure everyone’s hugging each other and singing Kumbaya in March. We love each other. Our team is in a great place mentally. I think that’s something that as a staff we’ve always taken pride in, like just making sure that our team is ready to go for post-season.”

Q. You mentioned beating Florida three times is no easy task. What are your thoughts on this Florida squad, what they’ve been capable of?

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: “I think Kelly does a great job. I have a lot of respect for her. Anytime we play Florida, it gives me heartburn just because of their style. It’s a very difficult style to play against. Her guards are so relentless. They’re able to get downhill anytime they want. Honestly for us, I know it’s two ways you want it in tournament play: you either want to blow someone out so you can rest your kids, or you need a game like this because, honestly, we were sick and tired of sitting around. We really wanted to play. So for us to play in this fashion, I think it’s perfect to prepare us for the opponent that we have next.”

Q. A tough task tomorrow. What are your thoughts on your team as of right now, expectations going into tomorrow?

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: “I just expect us to stay true to who we are, defend at a high level, not get too high or too low. We had opportunities when we played ’em at our place. I don’t know that we were ready for the moment. I do think my team is ready for the moment. We’re going to have to come to play because they have a bunch of WNBA players on their roster. Really looking forward to the challenge.”

Q. I saw you tweeted the picture with (ESPN bracketologist) Charlie Creme yesterday.

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: “I made my case for getting off of that eight, nine. I told him I was disappointed that he still had us on the eight, nine line. We moved to the seven. But he told me I had to win a couple if I wanted to get to that six line. I think Charlie does a great job. Anytime I can promote Ole Miss women’s basketball, I will. I’m a straightforward type of gal. When I realized that was him, I went over and tried to see if I could kind of butter him up a little bit. The reality is, he doesn’t have a say. He’s just an expert. It was a cool opportunity to ask him what it would take to be able to move up.”

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: Thank y’all.