‘No fight. No effort.’: Coach Yo unloads after Ole Miss women blown out by Texas A&M
Yolett McPhee-McCuin for the second time in two weeks used a press conference to directly appeal to Ole Miss fans.
However, this time, she was apologizing instead of calling them out.
Ole Miss capped off easily one of its worst weeks of the season with a 72-53 home loss to Texas A&M on Thursday. The Rebels, just four days earlier, were nearly beaten by 30 at top-ranked South Carolina.
The Aggies improved to 16-6 (4-5 SEC) overall on the season, while Ole Miss dropped to 16-7 (6-4). The Rebels entered in a three-way tie for third in the SEC. They’re now sixth.
“Just incredibly disappointed in my team,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Incredibly disappointed. No fight, no effort, no maturity. I don’t even know who they were tonight, and I want to apologize to every fan that came out to support us. That’s not Ole Miss women’s basketball. Just really disappointed.”
Janiah Barker and Lauren Ware had 21 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the Aggies.
Ware chipped in 11 rebounds, too, while Barker added five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
Only two Rebels, Snudda Collins and Madison Scott, scored double-digit points. Collins hit a season-best four threes, while Scott, for the second straight game, paced Ole Miss offensively (15 points). Collins moved into the Top 5 in school history in career threes. Rita Igbokwe had 10 rebounds off the bench.
Texas A&M shot 45 percent (27 for 60) from the floor and 40 percent (6 for 15) from three. Ole Miss connected on just 36.4 (20 for 55) of its shots, though the Rebels were 45.5 percent (5 for 11) on threes. They were out-rebounded 41-29.
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“I don’t have words,” McPhee-McCuin said. “We just did not compete tonight, and it’s completely unacceptable. We have to work. This is a very important month for us. We have to figure out how to be the toughest team every time we play on the floor. Most times, if we win, it’s when we’re the toughest team on the floor, not the most talented.”
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Texas A&M jumped on the board first.
However, Ole Miss rallied with a 7-0 run, and, by the end of the first quarter, the Rebels were up 16-15.
The Aggies answered with an 11-point surge to start the second. But Collins, on her 165th career three, was able to pull Ole Miss within a single possession in the half’s closing minutes. Still, the Aggies withstood the charge and led 35-29 at the break.
An 11-0 Texas A&M burst early in the third essentially put the game away, even as Ole Miss out-scored Texas A&M in the fourth. The Rebels next travel to Florida. Tipoff in Gainesville on Thursday, February 15, is set for 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
“I’m just really disappointed in my group’s effort,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I’ve got to look in the mirror.”
