Ole Miss Women’s Basketball: Joy, Gratitude, and a Second-Round Berth in the NCAA Tournament

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OXFORD, Miss. – For the third consecutive season, Ole Miss women’s basketball is moving on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, after defeating Ball State 83-65 in the opening round and setting up a matchup against the Baylor Bears in the Waco regional final.

Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, speaking in Waco before the tournament, emphasized gratitude for the opportunity, regardless of location. Despite being on the bubble to host and not being selected, the Rebels embraced the No. 5-seed and recognized that it was their highest seed since 1994. They were reminded of their team word: Joy.

“Our program is not built on privilege at all. We’re always grateful every time we have an opportunity to represent the university…Would we have been excited had we hosted? Of course. But we’ve also been on the road, this is not foreign to us…We’re incredibly grateful and it doesn’t take much for us to just keep the main thing the main thing. We’ve always been like that; I think that starts with me and brushes off on the team.”

~ Coach Yo on being grateful for the opportunities

Trust the GPS 🗺️@YolettMcCuin | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/CeR2WBUB31

— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) March 22, 2025

Team 50 didn’t just embrace the challenge, they dominated it. Despite going down early to Ball State, the Rebels roared back to take a first quarter lead and never looked back. Ole Miss lead by as much as 29 points during the course of the game, being in control the game for 34 minutes as well.

Although Coach Yo stated several times before the tournament that Team 50 respected the matchup with the Cardinals and would not give them any bulletin board material, she also highlighted the battle-tested resume the Rebels have.

“With our strength of schedule being a three, we’ve had to play elite-level teams from our opening game in Paris (against USC). We played UConn, we played NC State at NC State, and we played 16 games in conference play in the SEC. We’re more than prepared and ready to compete against any type of team, any type of style and in any type of venue.”

~ Coach Yo on the Rebels being battle-tested

Ole Miss handled their business in the No. 5 versus No. 12-seed matchup. It was Starr Jacobs and Kennedy Todd-Williams who stood out in the Round of 64 victory, both notching double-doubles for the Rebels.

We’ve got not one…

but TWO double-doubles 👀@Starr7Jacobs – 1️⃣8️⃣ Points, 1️⃣1️⃣ Rebounds@Ktoddwilli – 1️⃣5️⃣ Points, 1️⃣1️⃣ Rebounds pic.twitter.com/mvaw7hgLg4

— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) March 22, 2025

Madison Scott is considered one of the best players in the program’s history, and she is undoubtedly the locker room leader. Scott tallied 15 points in the win over the Cardinals, grabbing five boards and blocking three shots as well. Coach Yo claimed that Scott is the epitome of Ole Miss Women’s basketball.

“Madi has been with me for five years now, she’s experienced all four NCAA Tournament experiences from when we were here in Waco to now coming back…She’s battle-tested and so is her leadership. What she means to the program…I said before she is Ole Miss Women’s Basketball just from a character standpoint, how she plays, how she speaks. It’s just really a blessing to have someone like her on the team.”

~ Coach Yo on Madison Scott

See y’all on Sunday 👋@IAMMADISCOTT | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/f3AcUTyWZ4

— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) March 22, 2025

Coach Yo taking the Rebels to new heights

Her coaching style may not fit the typical stereotype for the public eye, but Coach Yo continues to bring the Ole Miss Women’s basketball program to new heights. The numbers speak for themselves, or facts as Coach Yo likes to call them.

Since her arrival in Oxford, the Rebels have only trended upward. Coach Yo became just the second coach in program history to achieve 20 wins in four consecutive seasons, putting her name beside the legendary Van Chancellor who was the first coach in the program’s history. Chancellor won 20 games every season from the establishment in 1981 until 1992 when the Rebels missed the tournament for the first time.

The point is, Coach Yo is an Ole Miss legend in the making and the fans have the opportunity to watch it all unfold. Despite all the flack she takes as a power-conference coach, Coach Yo will never apologize for being authentic. Responding to a question that reflected on past comments, the Rebel head coach reiterated that.

“I feel like I don’t fit the narrative of what a P4 coach probably looks like. I’m on TikTok, I hang out with my players, I’m in the community, you can tweet at me and I will tweet back. I just think I’m a different generation, but I’m power four coach and have had a lot of success in my stint here…in large part because of my roots, born and raised from the Bahamas. We are a humble but confident group of people, we also have a lot of joy, appreciativeness and gratitude. I think that keeps me grounded. I’m not going to come up here and complain about everything. I’m just always going to be grateful and keep the main thing the main thing…That is because of my roots, me being born and raised in the Bahamas.”

~ Coach Yo on staying true to her roots

TOGETHER.#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/RuTDabG4ll

— Ole Miss Women’s BB (@OleMissWBB) March 22, 2025

Next Up

The No. 5-seed Ole Miss Rebels and No. 4-seed Baylor Bears will tip off at 3 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 22, in Waco. The game will be televised on ESPN.