‘Coach Yo’, Rebels win 12th straight game

Since dropping their opening game of the season to Belmont University, Bahamian Yolett McPhee-McCuin and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Rebels women’s basketball team went on a rampage, racking up 12 straight wins – the most for the program in a row since 1991. For its 12th straight win, they took down the nationally ranked University of South Florida Bulls, 61-53, in a game at the West Palm Beach Invitational in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday.

The Bulls came into the game ranked at number 18 and it’s the Rebels’ first win against a nonconference-ranked team since 2007. It was a great win for the Rebels as they closed off nonconference play and now have to traverse through one of the toughest conferences in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I – the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

One thing that stood out about the Rebels as a team in this 12-game winning streak was their defense. Against the Bulls, they continued to exhibit that as they forced 14 turnovers and only gave up 16 made field goals. The Bahamian spoke about her team’s defensive mentality.

“Our defense wears people down, so we don’t really have to press because, first of all, I’m going to play 10 people at least,” said Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. “Those shots they were making, they didn’t have the legs to make them when they needed to, and that’s because of our defense. So, if you have to play us the next day, you can’t get rest, and you just play the game; you know you’re in for a fight because we’re going to wear you down for 40 minutes.”

That defense was on full display in the fourth quarter as the Bulls went scoreless in the first six minutes of that period. During those six minutes, the Rebels pushed the lead to 12 points. They took a 47-35 lead with 4:39 remaining in the game. The Bulls got the lead down to six points at the 1:04 mark of the fourth quarter with the Rebels leading 57-51. That was the closest the Rebels allowed the Bulls to get to them as they pulled away to win the game.

A look at the box score showed McPhee-McCuin’s side had an even scoring attack with seven players scoring five or more points. Leading the way for the Rebels was Madison Scott, who finished 6-for-8 from the field for 12 points. Shakira Austin finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

Defensively, the Rebels held the Bulls to just 35.6 percent from the field, going 16-for-45 for the game. In the third quarter, the Rebels played some strong defense as the Bulls shot 1-for-10 from the field. In that quarter, the Rebels outscored the Bulls 15-5.

The Rebels shot 47.1 percent from the field for the game. It was their sixth straight game shooting about 40 percent.

As expected, the game was competitive for the most part. The score was tied 12 times and there were seven lead changes.

It is a great start to the season for the Rebels. They have allowed their opponents to score an average of just 49.5 points per game. They have an impressive plus-20.2 points margin as they average 69.8 points per game. Their opponents have shot an average of 34.2 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from deep. They are averaging 11.1 steals and 4.7 blocks per game.

The Rebels will get their SEC play underway on Thursday, December 30 with a matchup against the University of Arkansas Razorbacks at home at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion in Oxford, Mississippi. That game starts at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. After that, they have what is expected to be a tough battle against the number one nationally ranked team and Battle 4 Atlantis Champion, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. That game will be played on Sunday, January 2.

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