Coach Yo Reflects On Ole Miss Women's Basketball's Heartbreaking Loss to No. 7 Texas

The Ole Miss Rebels suffered a difficult loss to the No. 7 Texas Longhorns on Sunday.

Mar 9, 2024; Greensville, SC, USA; Ole Miss Rebels head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin reacts during the second half against the LSU Lady Tigers at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Ole Miss women's basketball had a stiff test on Sunday as it hosted the No. 7 Texas Longhorns, and the Rebels almost passed that test, had it not been for a late-game collapse.

Texas claimed a 61-58 win over the Rebels after going on a 13-2 run in the final 4:46 of the game. In fact, for the final 4:01 of play, Ole Miss failed to score, and the Longhorns were able to claim the final advantage.

This was a big game for the Rebels as they celebrated 50 years of the women's basketball program, but some strong support in the SJB Pavilion was not enough to push Ole Miss over the top on Sunday.

"Fans tried to will us to a win," head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said postgame. "I can't stop thinking about there were opportunities where we could have probably sealed the game with a rebound, and we gave it up when it mattered the most."

Ole Miss was led in scoring by Madison Scott with 17 points, and she was joined in double digits by Sira Thienou with 14. As a team, the Rebels shot 35.7 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three.

Texas was led by forward Taylor Jones with 24 points, and McPhee-McCuin said postgame that the Rebels did not have an answer for her post presence. Joining Jones in double digits was Madison Booker who hit a jumper with 26 seconds left to play that gave the Longhorns a 60-58 lead.

On the Rebels' late scoring drought, McPhee-McCuin gave some credit to Texas but also said that Ole Miss simply has to continue to grow in those situations.

"When they needed to make a bucket, they gave it to Madison Booker, and she scored," McPhee-McCuin said. "For me, when we need a bucket, I want it to go to Madison Scott. We'll just continue to play through that, work through that, and hopefully when it matters the most, we'll capitalize on it.

"I thought it was going to be a low-scoring game. Both of us are defensive teams. We started to get a little tight during the last four minutes, and we just couldn't execute, but it wasn't because of anything they did. They're the No. 7 team in the country for a reason. We just have to put ourselves in those positions and go for it."

Ole Miss now falls to 13-6 overall and 4-3 in SEC play, and it will return to action on Thursday as it faces the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

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