This Ole Miss women's basketball team is Coach Yo's most complete. Can it make more history?
OXFORD ― At the end of the third quarter Sunday, the SJB Pavilion scoreboard read Ole Miss women's basketball 64, Arkansas 36.
Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin's team outscored the Razorbacks 16-4 in the third. Yet the five Rebels who finished the quarter on the floor returned to the bench wearing frustrated looks.
"They did not want them to score in the third quarter," McPhee-McCuin said. "They scored four points. And then the girls that came in were super down about it. And I had to tell them, 'It's OK, it's just four points.' But I love the hunger. I love the expectation. We're no longer trying to prove something. We're here."
The 87-43 shellacking the Rebels (22-7, 12-4 SEC) handed the Razorbacks (18-13, 6-10) to close out the regular season felt routine. Perhaps that's a function of Ole Miss' rising standard. It closed with six consecutive wins, and their final four came by an average margin of 29.3 points.
Those results have been achieved with an attitude like the one those Rebels displayed, irritated that they hadn't finished the job after holding Arkansas without a point for the first 7:47 of the third.
The Rebels' success — both recent and big picture — is built on a defensive foundation. When they allowed 72 points to Texas A&M in a home loss on Feb. 8, McPhee-McCuin didn't let her team touch a basketball for the next 48 hours. The Rebels haven't lost since, winning out to achieve a program-best 12 SEC victories.
But an evolution has taken place on the other end of the court, too. With three gifted scorers in Madison Scott, Kennedy Todd-Williams and Marquesha Davis, the Rebels now can pair a potent offensive threat with their defensive toughness. With a 42.6% success rate from the field after Sunday's game, their offense is the program's most efficient since 1995-96.
"They've got the identity of their defense, but their offense is good, too," Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors said. "If you look back, historically teams don't go to Sweet 16 if their offense isn't good.
"Coach (Vic) Schaefer's teams at Mississippi State were always really good defensively. When they got good on offense, they went to the finals. I think their offense is equally as hard to guard. I think they've become very balanced."
GAME RECAP: Ole Miss women's basketball obliterates Arkansas, wins sixth straight before SEC Tournament
Balance was always McPhee-McCuin's hope for this year's team, but those ambitions seemed to shatter when star point guard KK Deans went down for the season with a knee injury before SEC play began.
Asked to explain her team's renewed offensive dynamism, McPhee-McCuin credited the group's buy-in.
"Collectively, the seniors decided, 'You know what, Coach is really — out of all of us, we may be the alphas, but she's the true alpha dog. So we might as well come on over here and join in,' " she said. "At the end of the day, my team knows how the story always ends. So I say to them all the time: Don't fight me, let's do this together."
Now together and thriving because of it, what can this team achieve? Neighbors said the Rebels should have their sights set on the Final Four in Cleveland, believing that should be the target for all SEC teams that finish in the top four of the conference's regular-season standings.
The Rebels' strong end to the season earned them a third-place finish, and the double-bye at next week's SEC Tournament that comes with it.
Once there, the goal is simple.
"Win," Scott said. "Win or go home. And we're not trying to go home."
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Ole Miss women's basketball could be primed for SEC tournament run
