Leading scorer Cotie McMahon bounced back in a big way after Ole Miss’ offensive struggles against Georgia, leading by example in an 82-61 win over Missouri that looked far more like the Rebels team fans have come to expect.
After the win, McMahon spoke about setting the tone through defense, embracing her leadership role, and the confidence she’s helping build in teammates as conference play continues.
Here’s everything she said after the win against Missouri.
On big game after loss to Georgia…
I felt like I had no choice but to play the way I know I can and to the level I’m capable of. My role is to get us going — that’s my leadership role. I’m less of a vocal leader and more of a lead-by-action type, so my focus was setting the tone and getting the team going. Everything else comes from that, especially my own game. When I create for others, that opens things up for me, too. That was our main focus tonight, and it worked.
On the second half against Missouri…
We gave up a little more than we wanted to in the third quarter, but we just had to get back to what we know we’re supposed to do. Our main focus was staying locked in on the defensive end because that’s what really gets our offense going. Once we’re locked in defensively, we trust that our offense will take care of itself.
On what win against Missouri means…
Honestly, this game is no different than the other wins we’ve had. I think the Georgia game was just out of character for us. This isn’t anything special — we’re just going to keep doing what we’ve focused on from the start and continue playing Ole Miss basketball. If we do that, we’ll be successful.
On teammate Sira Thienou…
Confidence. Sira is my dog — that’s my right hand. My job is to keep instilling confidence in her and helping her grow as a leader. We’ve got a team full of seniors, and next year this will be Sierra’s team. So I’m just trying to pour into her as much as I can and make sure she never second-guesses her shots. If she’s confident, she can knock down anything. She’s a killer on both defense and offense, and I just want her to know that.
On the upcoming winter weather…
I think Mississippi’s being a little dramatic about it. We’re going to be fine. The coaches and staff are preparing us. I don’t really have to do much — I’m used to it.
