Frankly speaking, the Rebel Nation was mentally preparing for a loss on Sunday even before stepping foot in the Colonial Life Arena.
The chances of the Rebels pulling off the wild upset over South Carolina were slim as they were; their week-long grind extinguished the remaining hopes.
Although Coach Yo's squad tried putting up a fight, the No. 1 seed ultimately pulled off a dominating 85-48 win.
Ole Miss isn't sweating the loss, though. Their postseason ticket is already punched.
Yolett McPhee-McCuin positive about postseason hopes
Coach Yo emphasized it further in her post-game press conference.
“Well, I hadn’t seen any other team get punished after losing to South Carolina, so hopefully we don’t, and that’s for who needs to hear it, you know? Because I’ve watched their games," Yolett McPhee-McCuin said.
"Okay, the score doesn’t look great, but they still beat teams by 30. So I mean, and I’m talking about people didn’t even move. So if we move, I’m going to be shocked."
But it still doesn't mean the Rebs are in the clear. With two consecutive losses, they now have zero margin for error. Ole Miss's final two games of the season are a must-win to make it as a No. 4 seed.
"Obviously, the next two games are very important to us. I don’t think we can afford to drop those," Coach Yo asserted.
"... for people like my young people that had to step up because Cotie’s off shooting night, it was a shock, and that’s the home court advantage that they have. But I’m grateful for it, because I do believe that we can make a run in March, and it will prepare us.”
How the Rebels turn out in the final stretch decides whether they get to make an appearance in March — and whether they bring the Big Dance to Oxford.