No. 19 Ole Miss lost to No. 22 Louisville but Yolett McPhee-McCuin is learning a new team, again

On Tuesday Yolett McPhee-McCuin said the game between No. 19 Ole Miss and No. 22 Louisville would come down to the little things.

In a rematch of last season’s Sweet 16 the little things were missed free throws and inability to score off second chance points in the Cardinals 62-58 win over the Rebels inside the SJB Pavilion on Wednesday.

Despite the loss, the second of the season for Ole Miss (6-2), McCuin was not totally discouraged by her team’s showing. Her reasoning was being down a key player in KK Deans who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Michigan in the Bahamas last week.

Nearly a month into the season there is a feeling around the Rebels that they are starting over again.

“That’s just like us learning how to play with this new team. When we figure it out we will be where we need to be,” McCuin said. “I cannot compare it to Oklahoma because with Oklahoma we had KK Deans. If we had KK Deans tonight, I like my chances and I still like my chances but this is a new team. This is our second game playing as a new team and this is our second loss to a team who will be in the NCAA Tournament.”

Ole Miss went 13-of-28 from the free throw line with the 15 points given away the sole culprit for why a victory was not had. In the fourth quarter the Rebels made two of their 12 free throw attempts.

While on the other end of the court Louisville (7-1) missed 11 free throws but had more opportunities, going 25-of-36 from the charity stripe. A combined 51 fouls were called in the game.

“In the third quarter we gave up 22 points and I swear to y’all it looked as if the points that they got were only from the free-throw line,” McCuin said. “We could not come up with the rebound. We could not come up with the ball in the right time.”

The loss hurts but the bigger picture for Ole Miss is what was on the mind of McCuin in the moments after.

In the absence of Deans freshman guards Zakiya Stephenson and Marija Avlijas have answered the bell and stepped up in key bench roles.

Aviljas had a breakout game agaisnt the Wolverines after Deans went out and Wednesday was Stephenson’s chance, playing for 21 minutes and finishing with six assists, four points and a rebound before fouling out.

The mission now in the final five games of non-conference play, starting Saturday in Hattiesburg against Southern Mississippi, is to learn this new team and find the right formula ahead of Southeastern Conference play starting on January 4 at Alabama.

“There were tons of things I saw that I really, really liked. Moving forward we’ll continue to grow and build,” McCuin said. “Really a confidence booster to me because that’s a program that always finds their way in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. Every single year. I like where we’re heading and I know that sounds crazy, we lost the game, but this is my new team and when we figure it out we’ll grow like we need to.”

Snudda Collins finished with a game-high 22 points and Marquesha Davis was the only other Ole Miss player to finish in double figures with 12 points. Madison Scott had four points to go with five rebounds and a steal.