This is March: Ole Miss women’s basketball secures highest regular-season finish in 30 years
This is March.
Ole Miss women’s basketball closed out the 2023-24 regular season, honored its seniors, and continued its march towards clinching its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance, with an 87-43 win over Arkansas on Sunday.
The win was biggest for the Rebels over the Razorbacks in school history. They’ve now reeled off four wins in a row against them.
Ole Miss, in the process, clinched the No. 3 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament, its highest finish since 1991-92. The Rebels came in behind only top-ranked conference-champion South Carolina and two-seed LSU. They now head to Greenville, South Carolina, as winners of six straight and 10 of their last 12.
“This was fun today,” sixth-year Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said afterwards. “I don’t know that as a coach, every time after a win, can say that. Sometimes you’re just glad you got out of there alive.
“But we had a blast for the whole 40 minutes. The bench and team were both engaged. We’re so focused right now.”
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We win. We dance! 🪩💃 pic.twitter.com/cWB6La0d9x
— Ole Miss Women's BB (@OleMissWBB) March 3, 2024
The SEC Tournament runs from March 6-10.
Ole Miss received a double-bye. The Rebels will take on the winner of No. 6 Vanderbilt and No. 11 Florida/No. 14 Missouri in the quarterfinals on Friday at approximately 8:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
The Rebels are 22-7 overall. Their 12 SEC wins (to just four losses) are a program record. Ole Miss has reached the Sweet 16 five times in its NCAA Tournament history. The Rebels have been to five Elite Eights.
Women’s basketball was one of four Ole Miss teams to win on Sunday. The others were baseball (to clinch a series win over Iowa), men’s tennis and and Rebel softball.
“I want people to start talking about how good of a team we are,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I’m not just talking about on the defensive end. I’m talking about on both ends of the floor.
“I mean, we shot 49 percent from the field, 30 percent from three and 83 percent from the free-throw line. We’re a balanced team. Yes, our defense is smothering, but we’re clicking on all cylinders. We’re playing really good basketball.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Snudda Collins, Marquesha Davis, Madison Scott and Kennedy Todd-Willilams each scored double-digit points. Collins had an Ole-Miss-high 18, while Scott flirted with a triple-double (14 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists).
Scott recorded her sixth double-double of the year. Collins and Scott were two of the five seniors recognized prior to tipoff. Todd-Williams, a decorated transfer from North Carolina, scored in double figures (15) for the sixth consecutive game. She chipped in six rebounds, too. Davis, the breakout senior and one-time Arkansas transfer, added 12 points.
Ole Miss held an opponent under 50 points for the 11th time this season, a new program record. Arkansas’ 43 points were its fewest in a game this year. Ole Miss blocked eight Arkansas shot attempts to set a new single-season school record (177).
GAME SUMMARY
Ole Miss hit the ground running with a 6-0 run in the game’s opening minutes.
Collins was on fire from jump and helped extend the Rebels’ lead to 18-9 early on. She had 12 points in the first quarter, the most by a Rebel in any one frame this season. The Rebels were up, 27-11, after one and following a 16-2, quarter-closing run.
Arkansas made some threes to tighten the gap. Collins, Davis and Scott, in particular, were too much, however. Ole Miss went into the halftime locker room leading 48-32.
The Rebels only expanded their lead, and continued to flex their defensive muscle, in holding Arkansas scoreless for the first seven minutes of the third quarter. Ole Miss surrendered just one field goal over the stretch, and the Rebels were cruising after three, 64-36.
Ole Miss used a 15-1 run to start the fourth to turn what was already a blowout into a straight-up laugher.
