Caleb Harris
The Ole Miss women’s basketball team (9-2) got a tough win over the Jacksonville Dolphins (5-4) 66-56 on Wednesday afternoon.
It was a record attendance for women’s basketball with 8,958 people packing the stands in the SJB Pavilion on kids day.
This marked the first matchup ever against Jacksonville, whose only three losses coming into the game were against ranked opponents. This was also Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s first game against her former team, a team who she coached into a powerhouse, winning a conference championship there until she took the Ole Miss job in 2018.
“This was a good win for us because of the respect I have for Jacksonville, and they’re like a version of us, ” McPhee-McCuin said after the game.“They’re athletic and aggressive, and they made us earn everything.
McPhee-McCuin went on to say, “I thought the atmosphere was great and no one wants to lose on kids day. and that’s why I schedule these games at this time. Because I knew we would need a little boost.”
Ole Miss got off to an ugly start in the first quarter by converting only 36% of its field goals. The Lady Rebels had a scoring drought that spanned from 6:13 in the first quarter until 2:11 when senior guard Angel Baker converted a layup.
The Dolphins were able to take advantage of early momentum to go up as much as 13-8 in the first quarter.
Momentum began to follow the Rebels after the Dolphins went up 17-13 at the 7:37 mark in the second quarter. The turning point in the quarter was a jumper by Baker in the paint which sparked a 5-0 run until Jacksonville scored again. But Ole Miss dug deep to get on a 16-5 scoring run to end the half.
A spark was ignited by McPhee-McCuin during halftime. and the Rebels came out hot in the third quarter, going on an early 10-0 run and keeping their feet on the gas for the entire third.
Sophomore forward Madison Scott erupted with 10 points in the third compared to just seven points in the first half. She finished the game with a double-double with 19 points and 17 rebounds.
“During halftime, coach Yo (McPhee-McCuin) had a little bit to say to me and it definitely got me going,”Scott said after the game. “I’m a team player and I want to do whatever my team needs me to do each and every night. Tonight was just an example of me responding and I hope to do that each and every night.”
Baker was second in scoring with 14 points and five rebounds.
Ole Miss currently ranks 13th in the nation in offensive rebounds, and continued to dominate the boards against the Dolphins, putting up 15 on offense and a total of 48 boards.
McPhee-McCuin challenges Rebel fans to continue to show up and support the team for home court advantage and to give the girls that spark.
The Lady Rebels will take on the McNeese State Cowgirls on Saturday Dec. 17th at 12 p.m. CST in the SJB Pavilion.
