Ole Miss women’s basketball moves up in latest AP Poll

Ole Miss women’s basketball a week ago was coming to grips with its first loss of the season to Kansas State.

But the Rebels did exactly what they needed to this weekend, registering a pair of wins by large margins against Wofford (86-52) and South Carolina State (91-32).

The pair of dominant wins was enough for Ole Miss to move up three spots to No. 14 in the latest AP Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll.

Part of that move up was a result of losses by other teams ranked near the Rebels. Then-No. 16 USC loss to No. 1 UConn, and moved down three spots. Then-No. 13 Baylor lost to No. 2 Texas and moved back two spots. Then-No. 12 North Carolina lost to then-No. 22 Louisville and dropped six spots in the rankings.

Ole Miss was playing against teams it was expected to win, but putting on a dominant showing – like in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against South Carolina State – help solidify the Rebels’ spot in the rankings.

In that fourth quarter, the Rebels held South Carolina State to only four points after giving up seven points in the first quarter, nine in the second and 12 in the third.

“I coach my team, I don’t really think about who we’re playing against,” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “And honestly, for us, we’re trying to get somewhere. I could have probably, you know, backed off, but that’s just not how we play. It wasn’t any disrespect to South Carolina State.

“It was more of just focusing on our team. I thought that that last group that ended the game really played their hearts out, really got after it, moved their feet and played in sync. And so that’s something that we can build off of.”

Ole Miss will have another opportunity for a dominant showing this week when Mississippi Valley State comes to Oxford on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. on SECN+.

AP Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll

1. UConn 10-0
2. Texas 12-0
3. South Carolina 10-1
4. UCLA 9-1
5. LSU 11-0
6. Michigan 9-1
7. Maryland 12-0
8. Oklahoma 11-1
9. TCU 11-0
10. Iowa State 12-0
11. Iowa 10-1
12. Kentucky 11-1
13. Vanderbilt 9-0
14. Ole Miss 10-1
15. Baylor 10-2
16. Louisville 10-3
17. Tennessee 7-2
18. North Carolina 9-3
19. USC 7-3
20. Notre Dame 8-2
21. Ohio State 9-1
22. Washington 9-1
23. Nebraska 11-0
24. Michigan State 9-1
25. Princeton 10-1

Others receiving votes: Oklahoma St. 35, Texas Tech 26, Alabama 13, Georgia 12, NC State 8, Arizona St. 1, Illinois 1.