- Sheldon Longley
- 2 hrs ago
- 0
Back in The Bahamas in competition for a second year in a row, Bahamian women’s basketball head coach at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Yolett ‘Coach Yo’ McPhee-McCuin and her team are looking to make the most of their time here by winning the program’s first title under her six-year reign.
The Ole Miss Rebels advanced to the championship game of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis (B4A) Women’s Basketball Tournament inside the Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, The Bahamas, yesterday, taking down the Arizona Wildcats, 56-47, in the tournament semis. They will take on the Michigan Wolverines, another National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Power Five team, in the championship game today. That game will get underway at noon at Atlantis.https://65625669a8436ba6e1a8b8ba3bd7be12.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
For McPhee-McCuin, winning a championship here at home would mean the world to her. She’s looking forward to the opportunity to get the job done today.
“I’m just really thankful to see the growth of our team. We lost to Oklahoma and we were anxious to play another Power Five team. This (Arizona) is a program that has been to a Final Four that we were able to beat today. It doesn’t matter that they’re not ranked – it was a good win for our team. I was super proud of our team – they really believed in the game plan, and they executed it.”
The Lady Rebels (4-1) dropped 12 spots in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 rankings to number 23 after an 80-70 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners – their only loss of the season thus far, and coming off a season in which they advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. The Wildcats (5-1) are unranked.
The Lady Rebels fell behind by double digits to the Wildcats in the first half on Sunday. They battled back to trail 22-16 at the half and then opened the third quarter on a 15-3 scoring run to take control of the game. The Lady Rebels outscored the Wildcats, 25-11, in the third quarter and never looked back.
“Believe in, buy in, lock in and be all in – that’s what you saw from a group of young women today,” said McPhee-McCuin, preaching her team’s defense. “We were trying to play their game in the first half. They were so big and long that they were just dominating us. That got us rattled. Our identity is defense, and luckily for us, we were able to keep them low-scoring. They could have blown us out in the first half if we had allowed our offense to be our identity.https://65625669a8436ba6e1a8b8ba3bd7be12.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
“At the half, I told the team that it’s only a three-possession game. We made adjustments to open up the floor because they were so much bigger than us. On defense, our zone held up. We were able to get in the paint and create offense from our defense because they were missing in the zone and we were able to get out in transition.
“We were able to be more aggressive. Our group is special because we’re mobile and we’re athletic. That is the reputation of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). I thought in the clutch situations, we took care of the ball. We just have to continue to play with each other and continue to get experience. We want to play our best basketball in March, but start in January. To us, that is what matters the most.”
Marquesha Davis paced the Lady Rebels with a game-high 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Point guard Kirsten Deans added 13 points and Madison Scott had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Bahamian Rhema Collins is also a part of the team but the freshman forward is sidelined with a concussion.
“I’m very proud of this team,” she said. “We went through a lot of adversity and we’ve been challenged. I’m happy that we pulled out the win. I’m glad I came to Ole Miss. It’s a great feeling and I feel comfortable. I feel at home. My concussion was a minor setback, but I know it will work out in the end. I plan on coming back better and stronger.”
Maya Nnaji led the Wildcats with 12 points. She was their only player in double figures.
“I just decided that I needed to show up in the second half for us to win and I’m glad I was able to do that,” said Davis.https://65625669a8436ba6e1a8b8ba3bd7be12.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
Scott added: “I’m trying to grow and get better each and every day and I just know that I had to show up for my team today. We wanted to win and I wanted to show my team that I had their back.”
The Lady Rebels’ stellar defense limited the Wildcats to just 32 percent shooting (19-for-56) and 17.6 percent (3-for-17) from deep. The Lady Rebels weren’t that much better, finishing at 37 percent shooting (21-for-57) and going just 1-for-12 from behind the three-point arc, but they shot 10-for-17 in the decisive quarter to seal the win.
“When we say we want to dictate and disrupt, that means doing whatever it takes to stop them offensively. In the first half, they were just pounding it inside and we had no answer for it,” said McPhee-McCuin. “Yes, we tried to wear them out. I played 10 people so we were trying to get up and down the floor to our advantage.”
McPhee-McCuin said a win in the championship game today would be huge for the program and set the tone for the rest of the season. They fell short in the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship a season ago, losing to the University of Utah Utes, 69-67, in the tournament’s championship game inside the Baha Mar Convention Center at Baha Mar.
“A championship would give our team something to be proud of. When we lost to Oklahoma, that was a big blow. My team was hurt and I was hurt. We like to win and we want to win a championship and we will give our best effort to get that championship,” said McPhee-McCuin. “This is back-to-back for us in The Bahamas. My administration decided to back me in this team playing here and for that I am grateful. We need Bahamians in the gym tomorrow. I know I don’t make the shots or the passes, but no one represents the 242 harder than me consistently every day. I’m asking Bahamians to make the sacrifice, come out and help will us to a championship.”https://65625669a8436ba6e1a8b8ba3bd7be12.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
Down 22-16 after a sluggish first half on Sunday, the Rebels turned it around in the third quarter. Deans had a three-pointer and Davis followed with a three-point play in the midst of a 13-0 run that turned a 25-18 deficit into a 31-25 lead. Davis had 13 points in the quarter on 5-for-7 shooting for the Lady Rebels. The Wildcats got to within 47-44 midway through the fourth quarter, but made just one of its last six shots and had five turnovers over the last five and a half minutes.
McPhee-McCuin and her staff are adorned in Bahari shirts for the duration of the tournament, showing her love and loyalty for the culture of The Bahamas.
“I have a respect for culture. No matter where we are, I would like to pay homage to the culture, particularly with me being home in The Bahamas,” she said. “Shout out to Nike for giving us permission to wear the shirts. They understood how important it was for me to represent for my country. We decided to go with Bahari and we’ve been getting compliments, so even if we don’t win, we would be the best dressed team.”
As mentioned, McPhee- McCuin and Ole Miss will take on the Michigan Wolverines in the Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game today. The Wildcats will battle the University of South Dakota Coyotes in the third-place game.