Fifth-year Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said she could feel something different with her group as it prepared to take on three-time national champion and No. 1 seed Stanford in the second round of the women’s NCAA tournament.
After several close losses against top teams this season, including to defending national champion South Carolina, the Rebels were locked in and said they were ready to do what was needed to come through with a win. In fact, McPhee-McCuin had so much faith in her squad that she drafted a tweet before the game recognizing the people who prepared her for this moment.
The eighth-seeded Rebels delivered on that promise and made history in the process, defeating the Cardinal 54-49 on Sunday night at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion. Stanford became the first No. 1 seed since 2009 to fail to reach the Sweet 16 in the women’s NCAA tournament.
The Cardinal had not been eliminated in the second round since 2007; their 14 consecutive appearances in the Sweet 16 represented the…
