Coach Yo Reflects on Rebels’ Victory over No. 5 Vanderbilt Amid Storm and Struggle
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A devastating winter storm couldn’t extinguish the fire lit by head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s Rebels Friday afternoon as Ole Miss recorded its second top-5 win of the season, this one coming in the form of an 83-75 victory over No. 5 Vanderbilt.
The Rebels, on track to clinch a fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, played in the midst of very difficult circumstances facing residents in Oxford and northern Mississippi.
“This needed to be our way of showing that we’re fighting alongside the people that are still there—the linemen and women, our county, our people,” said Coach Yo after the game, in reference to those both struggling to live under the extreme conditions and those working towards recovery.
“We’re lifting them up and trying to bring them some joy.”
Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin
And bringing them some joy is exactly what the eighth-year head coach’s team did, pulling off one of the biggest wins of the season.
The Rebels dominated the first half, jumping out to a 19-point lead by halftime behind star forward Cotie McMahon, who finished with a game-high 27 points, while forward Christeen Iwuala led the team with 14 rebounds, giving Ole Miss a strong inside presence that Vanderbilt struggled to counter.
Though the Commodores roared back to life in the second half—narrowing the gap and even taking a brief lead in the fourth quarter—Ole Miss weathered the storm, both figuratively and literally, responding with composure and teamwork to close out the game in the final two and a half minutes, scoring 12 of the contest’s final 17 points to secure the victory. “
The game is a game of runs. Vanderbilt is a legitimate team. They made their run, and I was really proud of how my team managed their emotions through it. After they made that run—26-16 in the third quarter—for us to still hold serve was really impressive.”
Coach Yo on the Rebels’ win over Vandy
McMahon and Iwuala were critical in the Rebels’ ability to withstand Vanderbilt’s late rally. McMahon’s scoring, combined with Iwuala’s rebounding and second-chance points, allowed Ole Miss to maintain control late and seal the victory. Iwuala’s performance marked the breakthrough moment Coach Yo had been waiting to see in her, one that definitely did not go unnoticed.
“Christeen has been working very hard and hasn’t always seen the fruits of her labor. Today it was really cool to see her lead and also play really well.”
Coach Yo on Christeen Iwuala
Off the court, however, the road back to normalcy after Winter Storm Fern remains a long one. The relocation of both Thursday’s game against the Commodores and the next one up against Auburn have thrown very unconventional circumstances the Lady Rebs’ way. McPhee-McCuin described the team’s experience in the days leading up to the game:
“My staff still doesn’t have power and water. We were eating chips and anything we could get our hands on for four days in a row. To come out here and show that kind of resiliency — there are no words to express how big that was for us. It just shows our character.”
Coach Yo
As the city of Oxford continues to grapple with the aftermath of the devastating conditions, the relocation did little to hinder fan support, something McPhee-McCuin was quick to point out and applaud.
“I want to shout out the city of Birmingham—our Birmingham Alumni Club and just people in general. Some people even came from Oxford. It felt as much like a home game as it could,” McPhee-McCuin said.
Through all of the adversity, the team leaned on its strong culture and camaraderie, which has been a staple throughout McPhee-McCuin’s time in Oxford.
“The good thing about Team 51 is that they really like each other, so we don’t have drama. We really try not to feel sorry for ourselves. We’d rather put our energy into feeling for the people who are without. We’re not without. Has it been easy? No. But we’re together, we have power, we have light, and a lot of people don’t.”
Coach Yo
The victory over Vanderbilt, combined with the team’s ability to persevere amid challenges, was a statement win for Ole Miss, both on the scoreboard and in spirit. “Hopefully we can continue to build on that,” McPhee-McCuin said. “This is a great tournament field. Vanderbilt is a great team, and what we did today was pretty special.”
The win is the team’s second of the year against a top 5 opponent, the first coming against then-No. 5 Oklahoma back on January 8 in Norman, and brings the Rebels to an 18-4 overall record and a 5-2 mark in conference play. Prior to the game, the Rebels were projected as a 5-seed in Charlie Creme’s latest bracketology, a projection that could improve as a result of the team’s massive win against the Commodores, a team that was a projected 2-seed prior to their loss to the Rebels and now has only two losses on the year.
Next Up
Next up, the Lady Rebels will take on Auburn on Sunday, February 2, at 6:00 pm in Legacy Arena in Birmingham on SEC Network+/ESPN+.
Jacob Quaglino
Jacob is a New Orleans, LA native and Ole Miss alumni, Class of 2024 and staff writer with The Rebel Walk. He has been a diehard fan of all Ole Miss sports his entire life, with his earliest Ole Miss sports memory being the Rebels' iconic 2008 upset of then-No. 4 Florida. Among his other favorite Rebel sports memories are storming the field after beating LSU in 2023 and Georgia in 2024, watching the Rebels upset Alabama in back to back years in 2014-15, seeing the women's golf team win the school's first-ever NCAA-recognized national championship in 2021, and watching the Rebel baseball team win the College World Series in 2022. He remains exceedingly hopeful that the Ole Miss Athletics Department's national championship trophy collection will grow in the coming years. Outside of The Rebel Walk, Jacob also works for a local radio news station and has many interests and hobbies, including reading, writing, watching college sports, playing pickleball, and traveling.
