'Coach Yo' Building Championship Standard With Rebels as Postseason Draws Near
OXFORD, Miss. -- For the second-straight year, Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball has finished in the top four of the SEC, and they are destined for the NCAA Women's Tournament.
Before the big dance takes place, however, there is an SEC Tournament to play this week. The Rebels have a double-bye thanks to their top-four finish, so they will not take the floor until Friday. Still, back-to-back top-four finishes for coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin's team is a promising sign for a program that was in the bottom of the conference in the not-so-distant past.
"It shows that this program, our foundation is very strong," McPhee-McCuin said.
The Rebels took down the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday, securing the program's first 11-win SEC season since the 1991-92 campaign. That win set the stage for their double-bye in this week's tournament in Greenville, S.C.
In her media availability on Tuesday, McPhee-McCuin detailed that last season, the Rebels ran into experienced teams in the postseason: falling to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament and South Dakota in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, experience is something that the Rebels feel is in their favor as they head into the final stretch of the year.
"We ran up against a team in South Dakota who didn't have a lot of 'firsts,'" McPhee-McCuin said. "Experience is something that we hold onto. We know what it's like. We're using the same itinerary from last year. Now, we're going to try and win a championship every time we suit up."
The Rebels have been led this season by senior guard Angel Baker, averaging 15 PPG and earning a First Team All-SEC selection earlier this week.
"What I can say is that a lot of it has to do with her willingness to be vulnerable," McPhee-McCuin said. "To be coached, pushed. I think she has room to grow, which is encouraging for our staff."
Since McPhee-McCuin took the Ole Miss job, "defense" has been a preaching point for her program. When asked why that was such a strong emphasis, she went into detail on one point: building character.
"I just think defense has a lot to do with character," McPhee-McCuin said. "Defense, there's no gratification except getting a stop. Defense takes heart, togetherness, toughness and grit. That's usually when you build your character.
"Defense is hard. In life, coaching is my ministry. I want my players to have character and be resilient. We like to score, but we defend, and that's at the basis of it."
The SEC Women's Basketball Tournament began on Wednesday, and the first games are currently underway in Greenville. The winner of Texas A&M and Vanderbilt will advance to face Mississippi State on Thursday, and the winner of that game will face the Rebels on Friday.
Tip-off in Ole Miss' first action in the tournament is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
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