Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has the most talented roster she’s assembled in her sixth year on the job as Ole Miss head women’s basketball coach. When she was hired following the dismissal of then-head coach Matt Insell in 2018, she inherited a program that had only won one conference game the prior season.
Remember, this is a program that gained prominence under head coach Van Chancellor from 1978-1997 and saw the Rebels advance to 14 NCAA Tournaments, 11 of those coming consecutively from 1982-1992.
The 1992 season remains the most successful season to date. The Rebels went 29–3 and claimed the Southeastern Conference regular season title and the highest ranking, at No. 5 in the country.
Even as high as the program went under Chancellor and as low as it was when she took the job, the building had begun.
“The No. 1 goal for the program is to be better every day. To be better tomorrow than we were the day before. You will be able to witness the process of growth. This is prime real estate at Ole Miss,” Coach Yo would say during her introductory press conference.
To no surprise, the first two seasons would be engulfed with growing pains. In her first two seasons, the Rebels only accumulated 16 wins and only three coming in Southeastern Conference play.
Following the 2020-21 season, which saw the Rebels have their first winning season under Coach Yo, things began to shift. A 15-10 record and a 4-10 mark in the SEC would land the Rebels in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. The WNIT run to the finals against Rice would see the Rebels fall short in the championship game.
It was a new day in Ole Miss women’s hoops, and a number of factors contributed to the resurgence. The administration began to pour money into the program, fan support and attendance for home games soured, and social media interaction was at an all-time high.
The peak of the turnaround appeared to be when the Rebels hosted No. 7 LSU before a record crowd of 9,074 inside the SJB Pavilion last year. Honestly, there are previous seasons when the Rebels didn’t draw that many fans the entire season.
It was a new day at Ole Miss.
“I’m very grateful to play in the Southeastern Conference and have an immense amount of joy being the head coach at the University of Mississippi,” McPhee-McCuin said this year at SEC Media Day.
Ole Miss was winning like it hadn’t won consistently since Carol Ross took the Rebels to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons in 2004 and 2005, culminating in a loss to Tennessee in the Elite Eight. The furthest the team has been in since the Van Chancellor era.
Under Coach Yo, the Rebels have been to “The Big Dance” for the past three seasons and looked poised to make a run this year as well.
Ole Miss blew out Vanderbilt on Thursday 87-59 inside the SJB Pavilion and has significant opportunities ahead against No. 5 Texas at home, No. 2 South Carolina at home, and No. 6 LSU on the road. As always, two games against Mississippi State are always battles each year.
Currently, at 11-4, 2-1 in the SEC, the Rebels’ roster is stacked. With essentially a four-headed scoring monster, the Rebels are paced by Kennedy Todd-Williams,four-headed averaging 12.4 points per game, Sira Thienou with 12.3 points per game, Madison Scott with 10.8 points per game, and Starr Jacobs with 10.3 points per game.
What could be the best player on the team could be Florida transfer guard KK Deans. The Greensboro, NC native suffered a season-ending leg injury last season and spent the offseason gearing up for her senior season run with the Rebels. She’s averaging just under 10 points a game.
This is the deepest roster Coach Yo has fielded during her time at Ole Miss, going as deep as nine players, averaging over 14 minutes with as much playing time. The basketball distribution this season and the team's unselfishness have been evident.
Of the team's four losses, only one is a head-scratcher. The two-point loss, 60-58, to Texas A&M in College Station can be wiped away if the Rebels continue to play as they did against Vandy earlier this week.
With the program doing so well and the team and fanbase adopting the mantra “No Ceilings” comes expectations. No one knows that any more than Coach Yo.
Record crowds inside the SJB Pavilion, appearing on the flagship ESPN channel, continuing to recruit well in high school, and using the NCAA portal are considerable components of building a program.
Ole Miss must consistently win those games on campus against top-ranked opponents. This season, the Rebels must continue the momentum at home by making a statement against the elite teams in college basketball.
Ole Miss has been at the cusp of a major upset at home for the past two seasons, only to fall short toward the end. Against LSU when it broke the attendance record last season, taking No. 1 South Carolina to the brink in OT two years ago.
The next step is to come away with a win. Make no mistake, there have been huge wins on campus, and important ones. The elite ones are within grasp. What does it take to get to the next step?
“It takes a little bit of luck, a good draw. We want to get a home-court advantage (in the postseason), so we have to show that we are a program worth being considered in that top four. We have to win,” she added.
It will have that opportunity beginning on Sunday against No. 18th Alabama. Should the Rebels continue to roll, the Sunday date against No. 5 Texas on January 26th may break the single-game attendance record.
Ole Miss and Coach Yo could shatter another glass ceiling by defeating a Top-5 program at home, in coach Vic Schaefer and the No. 5 Texas Longhorns in a few weeks.
Like all sports, winning cures everything, and under coach Yo, winning has been a common denominator during her time as head coach.