It took time, but the Mississippi Rebels have been brought back to the top by Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. The program reached its 5th consecutive NCAA tournament, earning a 5th seed at the upcoming March Madness. But not long ago, the program lay in ruins. It had not reached an NCAA Tournament for 14 years, including 3 under Coach Yo. But they finally broke that streak in 2022 and it has only been up since. So, the coach is still grateful for their place among the top teams despite making it a habit. 

“I don’t take that for granted either,” She told the media. “It’s hard to win, y’all, and it’s hard to get to the tournament, and not everybody gets to dance in March. The fact that we’re able to do that gives me a great amount of gratitude and appreciation for all involved, from the top with the chancellor to Keith and Jen to the staff, the former players, and all the people that were involved in what we’re doing. It really humbles me and makes me incredibly grateful.”

Such a positive message towards the program and its stakeholders would be a welcome sign, considering that she is on the shortlist to become the new Florida head coach after Kelly Rae Finley. “This would be Florida’s likely big swing,” Talia Goodman wrote. “Several sources have indicated that it’s far from a given that Yolett McPhee-McCuin would leave in this instance, but she’s someone they should certainly target if they’re intending to significantly improve their resources.”

Coach Yo is one of the most revered coaches in the scene. But considering her loyalty to Oxford, it’s very unlikely she is going anywhere even with a significant financial offer from the Gators. “Ole Miss gave me a chance and believed in me when nobody else would give me a chance and stuck with me when we were losing,” she said. “There were a couple disgruntled people, but for the most part everybody stuck with me and showed me support.”

She has also formed a special bond with the Oxford community and is the first to give them credit for support. So, unless there is a major breakdown in the relationship, Coach Yo is going to continue to build this program. This year, they finished 23-11 overall and 8-8 in the SEC, reaching the semifinals of the conference tournament. Now, ahead of the tournament, Coach Yo is getting a major squad boost as well with Sira Thienou coming back from injury.

Yolett McPhee-McCuin Explains How Sira Thienou’s Injury Prepared Them For Postseason

Thienou, the 6-foot-1 sophomore, has not played since February 17 against Tennessee, when she suffered a bone bruise. Up till then, she was averaging 9.3 points, 2.4 assists and 5.6 rebounds. Losing a major contributor certainly had its effects, as they lost 5 of the next 7 games. Now, she is back for the postseason. But according to Coach Yo, her absence also had a silver lining, which will help them at the NCAA Tournament. 

“It also looks different because Tiana and Jayla were able to get a tremendous amount of experience,” Yolet McPhee-McCuin said. “So, when you think about it, we just have depth now. And before Sira got hurt, I don’t think we had depth. I wasn’t really playing those kids. It’s just now we have some people we can call on. We have rotations. Denim really stepped up in postseason play, so that gives us a strong suit at the point guard position. I think we’re just ready to go.”

Thompson was averaging 4.5 points and 0.7 rebounds in 11.35 minutes per game until that game against Tennessee. In the 7 games since, she is averaging 11 points and 2.6 rebounds a game in 25 minutes. Jayla has experienced the same, earning some vital minutes against Florida, Texas, Auburn and Vanderbilt. Denim dropped her season high of 20 points in that Texas loss. So, even though the results did not go their way, the team hardened because of the grind.