By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

COACH Yolett “Coach Yo” McPhee-McCuin and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Rebels stepped onto the hardwood at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena riding a seven-game win streak which was snapped by the Louisiana State University Tigers 75-67 on Saturday.

In weekend action, the Ole Miss Rebels seemed poised to make a run in the SEC after defeating the Florida Gators 84-74 on Friday night.

However, despite keeping the contest close against the Tigers, the Lady Rebels came up short in the SEC semifinals in Greenville, South Carolina.

The 2023 Battle 4 Atlantis women’s champions were behind 19-12 to close out the opening quarter of the basketball game.

After trailing in the first period, Ole Miss was out- scored by one (17-16) in the second quarter and went into the break down 36-28.

Grand Bahama native McPhee-McCuin shed some light on what went wrong for the third seeded Lady Rebels in the SEC semifinals. “When you get in these types of settings it is about will and I thought when it really came down to coming down, I thought the national champs reared their head. Angel was relentless.

“Flau’jae was relentless and I thought those two really were like we are not losing tonight and that’s experience. I thought we had chances to win the game. It is just unfortunate but we will learn from the film,” the decorated coach said.

Angel Reese, the SEC’s Player of the Year, gave the Rebels defence problems with her dominant double-double of 21 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. She was one of four Tigers’ players to score in double digits.

LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson poured in 21 points, three assists and two rebounds.

The Ole Miss Rebels seemed determined to make a push coming out of the locker room. With 6:52 remaining in the third quarter, the Rebels erased the deficit down to just two points. They managed to hang around with LSU but never had enough in the tank to get over the hump.

The 23-8 team had their best scoring output of the game, outscoring the Tigers 23-17 to put a lid on the third period behind by two (53-51). The Tigers jumped ahead with a 9-2 run to start the final session of the game and the rest was history.

Battle 4 Atlantis MVP Madison Scott powered her way to a game-high 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Forward Marquesha Davis put up 21 points and 5 rebounds in the loss. The Rebels were outrebounded 37 to 31.

Coach Yo said the team will now make preparations for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament.

“We take our wins together and we take our losses together. I wish I could have a couple of plays back. I would have done some things differently but we’ll go home, rest up and get ready for the NCAA tournament,” McPhee-McCuin said.

The field will be finalised on Selection Sunday, March 17 at 8pm.