The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Yolett McPhee-McCuin continues to lead the Ole Miss women’s basketball programme to an accolade season filled with milestones and now they head into the postseason as one of the top ranked teams in the nation’s most competitive conference.

Ole Miss clinched the No.4 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament and earned an automatic bye to the quarterfinals in Nashville, Tennessee.

McPhee-McCuin’s side will face the winner of game four on Friday March 4, at approximately 2:25pm on SEC Network.

“Thank you Ole Miss for giving this young girl from The Bahamas a chance to teach, develop and inspire!” she posted to Twitter. “When I got this opportunity I was left with four players! But God! Three years later we’re the No.4 team in the SEC! To God be the glory!”

Game one of the tournament will feature the Texas A & M Aggies against the Vanderbilt Commodores and the winner will advance to face the Florida Gators. The winner of that subsequent matchup will face Ole Miss.

At 22-7, 10-6 in the SEC, Ole Miss enjoyed its best finish in conference play since the 1993-94 season. They concluded the regular season with wins in four of their last five games.

McPhee-McCuin joined the Rebels in 2018 with expectations to rebuild a programme that struggled in recent years and was in the cellar of the SEC.

In her first year at the helm the team finished 9-22, 3-13 in conference play and the season concluded with a first round loss in the SEC Tournament. In year two, The Rebels finished the season at 7-23 and suffered another opening round loss in the tournament.

Last year, the Rebels finished the season 15-12, for their first winning season since 2016-17. After an 11-11 regular season, 4-10 in the SEC, they advanced to their first SEC Quarterfinal since 2004. Their résumé included three wins against ranked teams and four Top-50 NET wins. They eventually fell to Rice in the WNIT title game.

Ole Miss recently signed McPhee-McCuin to a new four-year contract extension that runs through 2025.

This season, the programme earned its first top 25 ranking since 2007.

The 2021-22 campaign thus far has been highlighted by a 13-game win streak, the third longest win streak in programme history. It also included wins over three ranked opponents.

Earlier this season, McPhee-McCuin reflected on the growth of the programme during her tenure.

“I just remember two years ago, us losing, and playing a player-manager and a walk-on and having that in the game, just trying to stay afloat. People don’t remember those days, but I do. To see where we’ve come as a programme, it really gives me a sense of pride. ... I’m so focused on where we’re trying to go this season, I have to remember how far we’ve come, so that I could stay in the moment and be appreciative of these moments.”