Ole Miss women’s basketball has spent the entire season ranked since the first preseason poll came out last October. That streak almost came to an end Monday.
The Rebels (21-10, 8-8 SEC) concluded its regular season Sunday with their fourth consecutive loss, a 66-58 game against Texas A&M. That resulted in the Rebels tumbling down in the latest AP Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll on Monday to No. 24.
In the defense of Ole Miss, it has been without one of its key starters, Sira Thienou, for most of the current losing streak and it’s had an impact.
“We’re 21-10. That’s five 20-win seasons and five NCAA Tournaments. That’s not easy,” Rebels’ coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said after Sunday’s loss to the Aggies. “If people think we’re declining, I’d argue differently. I think we have a brand-new team at a crucial time — the last two weeks of the season. That’s not ideal. When we were healthy, we were trending toward 11-5 or 10-6 in this league. In this SEC, 8-8 is the new 10-6. The league is legitimate.”
That legitimacy is highlighted by the latest AP poll. Eight SEC teams are included in the rankings with two more receiving votes. Additionally, five of the poll’s top 10 teams are from the SEC.
That level of competition, and the impact of key players being injured, has actually hurt Ole Miss in the poll for most of the season. That trend continuing Monday is no surprise.
“We’ve been fighting the legitimacy conversation for a while,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Other teams have lost games due to injuries and stayed ranked. Iowa State lost a player and dropped five straight, then got her back and rebounded. Kentucky went 1-4 without a key player. We’re in our storm right now. You don’t get to decide when the storm ends. You rely on the film and what’s true.”
Ole Miss should hope that storm ends soon with the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament scheduled to begin on Wednesday in Greenville, S.C.
“We just have to keep going through whatever we’re going through,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Maybe this group gets sick of losing. Sometimes that’s what flips the switch. We can’t give up 23 points in a first quarter again. That’s not who we are.”
Ole Miss doesn’t have much time to dwell on how the last two weeks unfolded, and maybe that’s a good thing.
The SEC Tournament arrives with a chance to reset, get healthier, and remind people why this team spent the entire season in the rankings in the first place.
The storm McPhee‑McCuin keeps referencing won’t last forever, and if the Rebels can steady themselves in Greenville, they’ll give the committee, and themselves, a clearer picture of who they really are heading into March.
AP Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll
- UConn, 31-0
- UCLA, 28-1
- South Carolina, 29-2
- Texas, 28-3
- Vanderbilt, 27-3
- LSU, 26-4
- Oklahoma, 23-6
- Michigan, 24-5
- Iowa, 24-5
- TCU, 27-4
- Ohio State, 24-6
- Louisville, 25-6
- Duke, 21-8
- Maryland, 23-7
- West Virginia, 24-6
- North Carolina, 25-6
- Kentucky, 21-9
- Michigan State, 22-7
- Minnesota, 22-7
- Baylor, 24-7
- Texas Tech, 25-6
- Georgia, 22-8
- Princeton, 23-3
- Ole Miss, 21-10
- Fairfield, 25-4
Others receiving votes: Alabama 29, Notre Dame 26, Columbia 25, Villanova 19, Oklahoma St. 13, NC State 11, Rice 8, Washington 4, Tennessee 3, Rhode Island 2, Illinois 2, Iowa St. 1.
