By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama native coach Yolett McPhee- McCuin and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Rebels are just two wins away from earning the most Southeastern Conference victories in the programme’s history.

On a more personal note, another win by the Lady Rebels will give “Coach Yo” her 100th victory since taking over the team’s head coach role in 2018.

The 2023 Battle 4 Atlantis women’s champions are currently on a four-game winning streak as they build momentum ahead of the SEC tournament slated for March.

The Lady Rebels have also clinched a top four spot and earned a double bye in the upcoming tourney with their latest win against Mizzou on Monday night. The 66-45 blowout win against the Tigers made it the third straight season the women’s basketball team cleared 20 wins since Van Chancellor made the mark from 1989-1992.

The decorated coach told Tribune Sports the team is hitting their stride at the right time.

“Right now our momentum is definitely where I would want it to be, focused going into March. We have a lot to play for. With two more wins we would make history with the highest amount of conference wins in the history of the programme.

“We have already notched a position in the top four, double bye and we’re playing like a team with competitive swagger and care about each other so we are really excited about where we are right now,” she said.

McPhee-McCuin has made significant improvements within the Ole Miss Rebels after taking over from former coach Matt Insell in 2018.

In her early years with the programme, the team struggled to earn more than 10 wins and in 2019-20, the Lady Rebels went 0-16 in SEC play.

A few years later, the team now sports a 20-7 win/loss record and a 10-4 record in the SEC. Additionally, Coach Yo owns a 99-82 coaching record with the Lady Rebels.

With the 100th win mark in sight, McPhee-McCuin said it’s a testament of how the women’s basketball programme has steadily improved over the years.

“For our programme to be in the position that it is, it took a lot of work. When I got this programme we had a lot of work to do, a lot of building to do and I have been a part of the highs and lows of this programme since being here. Being close to 100 wins means a lot but it’s not the end goal. I want to have several hundred wins while I am at Ole Miss so I guess I am looking at this like a cool milestone but an opportunity to look at how far we have come from only winning a few games my first couple years,” the Grand Bahama native said.

The Ole Miss Rebels have stayed true to their defensive identity, particularly during the recent four-game stretch.

Most recently, they held the Missouri Tigers to zero threes and under 50 points which was their fourth time holding a power five team under 50 points this season.

“I am incredibly impressed by my team. Our reputation is defence but full transparency, I don’t think we had been defending in conference play. We started after that Tennessee game to fix a lot of things, did a lot of soul-searching and decided that defence would be our identity. I have really been harping on that probably for the last five games,” she said.

The momentum is steadily building for the Lady Rebels and after a big upset win over the no. 1 Stanford last season to advance to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, the head coach is looking forward to even more success this year.

“Our focus now is finishing strong and then trying to put ourselves to be in the championship in the SEC tournament. Long term, we want to at least repeat the NCAA Sweet 16 or go beyond with the hopes of one day winning a national championship and that will always be the goal while I am here at Ole Miss,” she said.

The Rebels are slated to take on the Kentucky Wildcats at 7pm tonight.