Losing a key roster asset in Round One win against Gonzaga turned Ole Miss's 81-66 win bittersweet.
Ole Miss forward Jayla Murray suffered a head injury vs. Gonzaga in the third quarter, and sat out for the reminder of the game.
There's no official update as of now on whether Murray will play Minnesota in Round Two, but Coach Yo’s post-game evaluation suggests she has a fighting chance to suit up.
What Coach Yo said about Jayla Murray's injury?
Murray was hit in the face by the back of a Gonzaga player's head during the third quarter. She fell to the court and stayed down while play continued on the other end.
An official stopped play at the 7:20 mark for the Rebels to substitute Murray off the floor. She headed off to the locker room and did not come back.
Coach Yo's take on Murray's injury status didn't sound that concerning, as she said her sitting out of the game was just "precautionary".
"No. No update. She got hit in the head, so usually when that happens, then there needs to be just time, because if you get hit in the head, you're going to be a little bit shaken up," Coach Yo said post-game.
"We didn't feel like we needed to put her back in the game, so we just did it as precautionary," she continued, explaining why Murray didn;t come back.
The severity of Murray’s injury is unknown, but Coach Yo’s post-game comments suggest it was simply a minor knock to the head instead of a season-ending injury.
Even the SEC availability reports do not have Murray listed injured or questionable as of now, bolstering her case of returning for fighting for the Rebels' Sweet 16 run.
Murray played 12 minutes vs. the Zags and scored two points with two rebounds. Sira Thienou has just returned from her bone bruise, and the Rebels were just starting to build their momentum.
Losing Murray could throw a wrench in the works just as the Rebels are hitting their stride.
If she remains sidelined, the rest of the roster will need to step up to the plate to ensure that the Sweet 16 dreams don’t slip away.