From the Locker Room: Ole Miss took its defense to another level in rout of Florida
The calling card of Ole Miss women’s basketball under the guidance of head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has been the play of the defense.
Over the four-plus seasons McCuin has been in Oxford the mantra ‘dictate and disrupt’ has been the battle cry of Ole Miss either on the practice court at the Touhy Basketball Center or inside the SJB Pavilion.
In Sunday’s 68-42 win over Florida the defensive mantra was on full display as the Rebels clamped down in the second half. Ole Miss held the Gators to 19 points the final two quarters.
Florida finished 30 points below their season average of 72 points a game.
The 42 points was the lowest point total for Florida in a game all season and the only game where they finished in the 40s. Ole Miss’ defense did not let the Gators breath for a second.
“That’s what we do. We defend,” McCuin said after Sunday’s game. “We’ve held Utah, Oklahoma, high-powered offenses. We’re not afraid of high-powered offenses. If you look at our schedule in the non-conference we intentionally played two teams, one averaged at the time 100 (points) and one averaged 95 and we held them in the 60s. We defend. Now, we may not make a layup and we may have some empty possessions on offense, but we’re going to guard and that is who we are and that is what we’re always going to be about.”
Ole Miss held Florida to 24 percent shooting percentage for the game and 36 percent from three-point range. The Rebels also scored 24 points off 19 Gator turnovers where Florida only managed 11 points off 18 Ole Miss turnovers.
Watch McCuin’s full postgame press conference along with the full press conference of Madison Scott and Angel Baker below. Videos provided by Ole Miss Sports Productions.
