Ole Miss women's basketball makes a statement with first win at Mississippi State in 15 years
The calendar flipped to 2023 on Sunday and the Ole Miss women’s basketball team wasted no time ringing in the new year in style.
For the first time since the 2007 season Ole Miss left Starkville with a win over Mississippi State in a 61-50 victory. The Rebels have won two of the last three games against the Bulldogs and will have the chance for a season sweep when they meet in Oxford later this month.
Sunday’s victory is about more than just getting over the hump of beating Mississippi State inside ‘The Hump’ for the first time in a decade and a half. The win keeps the overall momentum Ole Miss has secured with another strong non-conference run.
Ole Miss (13-2) is 2-0 to start Southeastern Conference play for the first time since 2007 when it started SEC play 5-0.
In what fifth-year head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin self admitted was a season where she was not sure of her team’s identity early on due to the new faces on the roster, Ole Miss is playing like a well-oiled machine.
Expectations of not playing NCAA Tournament caliber basketball until February might have been premature on McCuin’s part, or just slow playing to temper the expectations inside her own locker room in case things did not go how they are to start January.
What is happening is an Ole Miss team earning NCAA Tournament projections in November and December is bulking up its resume.
A dominant win over Auburn on Thursday followed up by Sunday’s road win over the Bulldogs has Ole Miss sitting at 47 in the latest RPI rankings.
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McCuin has Ole Miss back on the path to go dancing for a second straight season after there was 14 years between NCAA Tournament berths before last year.
One large reason the Rebels are keeping pace with last season is due to the play of guard Myah Taylor. The former Bulldog scored six points in her return to Starkville along with two assists, a rebound, a block and a steal.
Offense is not the bread and butter of the Rebels as McCuin is defense-heavy in a ‘dictate and disrupt’ mentality. On Sunday the Rebels shot 50 percent in the second half, outscoring Mississippi State 35-21 the final 20 minutes.
Angel Baker scored a game-high 22 points followed by 15 points from Madison Scott.
The following week looks good for Ole Miss to continue the roll its on with games against Vanderbilt (9-7) on Thursday and at Texas A&M (5-7) on Jan. 8. Both the Commodores and Aggies are at the bottom of the SEC standings at 0-2.
The Rebels hosts Vanderbilt at 6 p.m. CT and will air on SEC Network+
