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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - MARCH 22: Yolett McPhee-McCuin head coach of Ole Miss Rebels calls to her team against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first quarter during a second round game of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Williams Arena on March 22, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Carlos Gonzalez/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) | NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Call it sour grapes if you want, but Ole Miss women’s basketball got hosed on Sunday in the round of 32.
Minnesota toppled the Rebels 65-63 with a furious comeback in the final few minutes of the game. Ole Miss star Cotie McMahon was called for a fifth foul with around four minutes left in the game on an egregiously suspect offensive foul. Her defender was inside the restricted area under the basket when the charge was called, and it did not look like McMahon dropped her shoulder to drive to the basket.
At that point in the game, ESPN analytics had the Rebels with a 77 percent chance to win the game.
Now that one foul call didn’t cost Ole Miss the game. The officiating was notably sub-optimal, however, and led to head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin to sound off in the postgame presser.
“I was in the locker room just thinking about other star players on teams. I’ve just never seen them fouled out in a March Madness game,” she told the press. “And from my point of view, the last call was incorrect. … I don’t think that’s why we lost the game. I just know that Cotie is leading scorer, (SEC) Newcomer of the Year, all of the things, and she plays 20 minutes, and it’s disappointing.”
Its absolutely right for the coach to stand up for her players and team in this situation. It is a gutting loss that should have been a win.
We said in our preview Ole Miss needed to shoot well from the perimeter, and it had one of its best shooting nights from three going 6/13. The downside is the Gophers went 7/12 from behind the arc including a game tying three with one minute remaining to knot things at 61-61.
Finishing the season in the round of 32 was not anyone’s expectation going into this season. The injury to Sira Thienou late in the year was an unexpected hit that caused some loss of momentum and probably a couple wins at the end of the regular season. Those losses very likely cost Ole Miss a hosting bid in the NCAA Tournament where it would have had much better odds to get to the Sweet Sixteen.
Its not to make any excuses for this squad. They had some very high water marks at times this season, but to have it end like this is nothing but bitter and no sweet.
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