Coach Yo’s March Mentality and is Team 51 Her Best Ever at Ole Miss?
OXFORD, Miss— Ole Miss is already making a splash in the postseason. The Rebels defeated Auburn, 73-57, Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and Team 51 showed the dangerous team they can be in the postseason with the dominant victory. They will play Vanderbilt Friday night.
Coach McPhee-McCuin has shown much confidence in Team 51 for the postseason. Despite the loss to Texas A&M this past Sunday in the last regular-season game, Coach Yo made that sentiment clear.
“When we’re at full strength, we’re gonna be a tough out, and we will be ready when the time comes…because we already clinched a tournament birth. We’re going to go to Greenville (South Carolina) and play as hard as we can. Then we are going to rest up and prepare for what is most important, March Madness.“
Coach Yo after the Rebels’ last regular season game
The passion. The focus. The confidence in her team. This is Coach Yo’s mentality all year long, but it amps up even moreso come March.
Track Record
Caoch McPhee-McCuin’s first head coaching job was at Jacksonville University from 2013 to 2018. During that period, the Dolphins had an overall record of 94-63. In the postseason, she led Jacksonville to its first-ever ASUN Conference Championship in 2016, along with an appearance in the NCAA tournament.
She joined the Rebels in 2018. Simply put, Ole Miss women’s basketball was not in a great place when Coach Yo took over. It took a few years to rebuild the program, but in 2022, the Ole Miss Rebels entered the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years. They exited in the first round, but there was proof of concept that Coach Yo knew exactly how to get the Rebels where they wanted to be.
In 2023, they pulled off another impossible task by beating a number-one seed, Stanford, in the first round. The defensive mindset of McPhee-McCuin’s squad showed the world what they were made of. They would make a Sweet-16 appearance that year before losing to Louisville, 72-62.
Many people might have considered it a fluke that Ole Miss had gotten in and made a splash; however, in 2024, Coach Yo and the team powered through to the second round before losing to Notre Dame, showing they planned to be here no matter how hard the road was.
This past season, the team would go deep again, making another run in the NCAA tournament. The Sweet 16 would once again be the landing spot for the Rebels after a big-time win over Baylor. Ole Miss would ultimately lose to a two-seed in UCLA in Spokane.
Coach Yo has changed the trajectory — and the conversation — with Ole Miss women’s basketball, but how does this team compare to past tournament teams she has coached?
Comparing Team 51Â
Offensive ability is now arguably at its strongest in the Coach Yo era. This season, the team as a whole is averaging 75.32 points, 40.4 rebounds, and 14.1 assists per game—among the highest averages posted by one of Coach Yo’s teams in a single season. This team is hungry to win in the postseason, and it could be the most dangerous offensive unit of the Coach Yo era.
Now, if you follow Ole Miss women’s basketball and Coach Yo, you know defense is the hallmark of her teams. “We Defend” isn’t just a phrase they say. This Ole Miss group is an elite defensive unit as well as one of the best scoring teams. While certain statistics may be down, like steals per game, the Rebels are holding strong.
Senior Cotie McMahon brings a new level of scoring to this team, averaging 19.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. She is a 1st Team All-SEC selection and SEC Newcomer of the Year, which shows the level of player she is. Christeen Iwuala is a big-time player in the paint, averaging 8.5 rebounds and 12.9 points per game. Iwuala can be unstoppable on any given night.
Latasha Lattimore is a blocking machine for the Rebels and a standout scorer. She has 68 blocks on the season, while averaging 10.4 points per game. Sira Thienou has been out with a bone bruise for the past four games, but she still leads the team with 44 steals and was averaging 9.3 points per game when she was injured. Coach Yo has credited Thienou as a valuable asset to the team’s defense.
Team 51’s depth surpasses that of her previous squads, providing unmatched rotation options. The team is arguably the best all-around team Coach Yo has coached, featuring bright stars, a mesmerizing offense, and ever-present and strong defense.
Coach Yo’s March mentality is proven. With a loaded roster and a strong season behind them, Ole Miss is poised for another deep run. Yolett McPhee-McCuin has raised the bar, embodying a new standard of excellence.
What’s Next?
Ole Miss will play Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament Friday at 5 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
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.
