A potential buzzer-beater clanking off the rim as the clock ran out was the heartbreak Ole Miss women's team didn't deserve this year. Had Tiana Thompson's last second attempt made it, the Rebels would be preparing for a Sweet 16 run.
Promising her fanbase to prepare to host the next season right after an exit like this takes exactly the type of grit and optimism that Oxford has come to expect from Coach Yo.
Yolett McPhee-McCuin knows what Ole Miss needs to do this offseason
Moments after the loss in her post-game conference, Coach Yo laid out her expectations for her locker room for the next season, and it was just one simple thing: bring the Big Dance to Oxford.
"As I close out this year and look forward to next year, the goal will be to host at home so that we can have that same type of opportunity. That's what's next for this program," McPhee-McCuin said post Minnesota loss.
For reference, the last time Oxford hosted the Big Dance was in 1994. The Rebels seemed poised to snap a two-decade drought for most of the year, but a late-season collapse — dropping their final four games — effectively knocked them out of hosting contention.
Completing that unfulfilled goal the next season is on top of Coach Yo's list.
"Next year is to host, but not even be a four seed. Be a three seed."
Her ability to keep her eyes on the prize even after an exit like Sunday's is exactly the type of bright outlook her team, and frankly, the whole of Oxford, needs right now.