Coach Yo Points to Missed Opportunities in Ole Miss’ Close Loss at Alabama
TUSCALOOSA – The Ole Miss women’s basketball team came up just short Thursday night, falling 64–63 on the road to Alabama in a game that came down to the final seconds.
A controversial charge call on the Rebels’ second-to-last possession drew frustration late, but the Crimson Tide failed to capitalize at the free-throw line, missing both attempts with five seconds remaining. Ole Miss still had a chance to steal the win, but a missed layup at the buzzer sealed the outcome.
Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin addressed the media following the loss and made it clear that officiating was not the reason Ole Miss left Tuscaloosa without a win.
“I mean, it is what it is. We’ve been on the road for nine days, but we had a lot of opportunities to win the game,” McCuin said. “When you’re on the road, you can’t leave it in the hands of the officials.”
Free throws proved costly for the Rebels, who finished 17-for-27 at the line. McCuin emphasized that missed opportunities at the charity stripe were a deciding factor.
“I just think on the road you’ve got to make free throws and layups, and we didn’t make free throws tonight. In spite of the questionable call at the end—and the missed call before the last play—they didn’t call it all night. When they did, it was a blocking call. You can’t miss free throws. I was disappointed because we needed every last one of them.”
Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin
Despite the final possession not unfolding as designed, Coach Yo expressed pride in her team’s composure and execution late.
“I was proud of them. We did what we were supposed to do on that,” McPhee-McCuin said. “The last play, the ball was supposed to go to Christine (Iwuala), but Tash (Latasha Lattimore) must have seen a read, and the timing was a little bit off. Christine was supposed to get the ball, but nevertheless, that’s life being on the road.”
Ole Miss had been away from home for nine consecutive days, and while Coach Yo acknowledged the need for rest, her focus remained on what a road win would have meant with a difficult stretch ahead.
“We really wanted to win this one. We didn’t want to have any excuses. At the end of the day, our goal is to go as far as we can go in the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. We have a very difficult and very challenging road ahead. After the Arkansas game, I think we play four games in eight days.”
Coach Yo on the coming schedule
McCuin closed her press conference by calling on Rebel fans to show out for the team’s next matchup.
“Hopefully our crowd will come out and support us and help us get a win when we need one at home,” she said.
What’s Next
Ole Miss returns home to face Arkansas on Thursday, February 12th, with tipoff set for 8 p.m. CT.
Parks Burcham
Parks Burcham is a sophomore at the University of Mississippi. He is majoring in Journalism, emphasis in Sports Media, with a minor in Sports Management. He is originally from Booneville, Mississippi and graduated high school from Jumpertown Attendance Center.His favorite sports are basketball and football. He chose this path because he has always been extremely interested in the sports world. Parks enjoys all aspects of the game and hopes to do great work in this field.
