With SEC Tournament run over all focus is now on the NCAA Tournament for Ole Miss

The madness of March can officially get underway for No. 24 Ole Miss after its run through this week’s Southeastern Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament concluded on Saturday.

A 85-68 loss to No. 4 Texas in the semifinals sends the Rebels (23-11) home to Oxford where they now will get a week to rest and wait to see what their NCAA Tournament fate is on Selection Sunday.

Despite wins over Auburn and No. 5 Vanderbilt it was going to take getting to the final day and more than likely cutting down the net as the SEC Tournament champions to get back in the host seed conversation. Though a second win over the Commodores, and the third win over a top-five team this season, was enough for Ole Miss to move back up to being a projected 5 Seed.

Getting a win over the Longhorns would have cemented that, and most likely will stay as a projected 5 Seed, but a poor first quarter and fourth quarter was enough to keep the Rebels out of a rematch with No. 3 South Carolina in Sunday’s SEC Tournament championship game.

“Southeastern Conference is the best league in the country. We got some really good games in. We’ll be able to have some really good tape as we prepare to see where we land for the NCAA Tournament,” Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said on Saturday. “This is the most we’ve lost to Texas. Usually it’s a barn-burner, but they got the best of us tonight.”

The first 20 minutes looked like Texas was going to comfortably cruise to Sunday’s championship game with a 10-point halftime lead, but the Rebels rallied. A third quarter that mirrored the fast starts against the Tigers and Commodores brought them back to within two points.

Unfortunately what plagued them in the first half returned for the final 10 minutes with turnovers and the inability to limit offensive rebounds by the Longhorns. Ole Miss committed 14 turnovers and Texas scored 15 points off them.

On the glass Texas won that battle 35-30, aiding a 28-13 fourth quarter.

“They started to get some shots in the zone and young people, when they get tired they can’t think,” McCuin said. “They did a really good job of working the back-line of the zone. Really, I don’t prefer to play zone against them for long periods of time. Because eventually they will figure it out. I would have preferred to get back in to man, but I didn’t feel physically and mentally we were prepared to do so.”

Cotie McMahon finished with 20 points, tying Denim DeShields and her career-best 20 points. Christeen Iwuala was the only other Rebel in double-figures with 12 points.