The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahamian coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and her University of Mississippi Lady Rebels are now into their fifth consecutive quarterfinal appearance of the 2025 Southeast Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.

The number seven ranked Ole Miss, who earned a bye in the first day of competition on Wednesday, came out on Thursday and knocked off coach Sam Purcell’s Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs 85-73 to take on the nation’s top ranked team in the University of Texas Longhorns (15-1), coached by Victor Schaefer, in tonight’s quarterfinal match at 6pm. 

“In the last two timeouts, I didn’t say a word. Manny (Madison Scott) had the time out and she was basically telling them we have the lead, we have to build on it, we have to take good shots. She was totally coaching them and they were locked in,” said McPhee-MCuin of her team leader on the floor. “That’s what you want in March, a player-led team. I’m just out there managing and moving pieces, but these young ladies are out here and they are serious about doing something special.”

As their coach, McPhee-McCuin has led the Rebels to four consecutive seasons of double-digit SEC wins, starting in the 2021-22 season. She also becomes the Lady Rebels’ first head coach to guide Ole Miss to four consecutive 10-plus conference wins.

Her “uncomplicated” team saw Scott score 20 points with four rebounds, four assists and two steals, Kennedy Todd-Williams also had 20 points with seven rebounds and two steals. Sira Thienou added 18, five rebounds and three assists and Christeen Iwula chipped in with 11 points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists and steals. 

Madina Okot led four Mississippi State players in double figures with 14 points and 10 rebounds. 

It was the second win this season for Ole Miss over Mississippi State after beating the Lady Bulldogs 86-71 in their regular season match-up on January 16. But they lost to Texas 61-58 in a January 26 game that went right down to the wire.  

“We’re just going to have to stick to our defensive principles,” said McPhee-McCuin of the Longhorns led by Madison Booker, the SEC Player of the Year. 

“Two defensive teams, so it’s probably going to be a low-scoring game. “We felt we had some opportunities where we felt we could have pulled away. We will see. We have a lot of respect for them, but we’re hungry and they are in the way. So, we’re going to do our best.”

The Lady Bulldogs opened the tournament on Wednesday with a 75-55 rout over No.15 Missouri for their first SEC Tournament victory, but they couldn’t sustain their intensity against the Lady Rebels.

Ole Miss got off to a slow start, falling behind 6-0 before they came alive, sparked by consecutive three-point plays from Sadler and Todd-Williams with an 11-0 run of their own to take an 11-6 lead in the first 4:58 of the first quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, Madison Scott got a lay-up in the paint with just one second left to put the Lady Rebels ahead 19-15.

Mississippi State managed to take a 31-29 lead in the first 5:25 of the second quarter, but Ole Miss got a three-pointer from Sadler with 33 seconds to surge ahead 42-35 at the half.

Although the Lady Bulldogs made a run for it, the Lady Rebels used a 23-21 surge to control the tempo for a 65-56 advantage at the end of the third quarter.

And in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss stayed poised as they withstood every challenge from Mississippi State with a 20-17 spurt to seal the deal.

It was the Ole Miss’s first game since they pulled off their stunning 85-77 victory over the Louisiana State University in their final regular season game to get them a bye into the second round of the SEC Tournament.

The Lady Rebels finished their regular season at 10-6, tied with Alabama, but ended up seventh based on their head-to-head match-up and are now 31-43 since the inception of the SEC women’s tournament in 1980.