No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels (24-8, 11-5 SEC) vs. No. 1 Stanford (29-5, 15-3 PAC-12)
- 6:30 p.m. PT, Maples Pavilion, Stanford, CA
- TV: ESPN (Roy Philpott, Brooke Weisbrod)
- Audio: Ole Miss || Stanford
After dominating Gonzaga in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Ole Miss Rebels are primed for what should be an exciting contest against No. 1-seeded Stanford. The defense of the Rebels helped them shut down the Zags, who led the nation in made three-point shots this season. Gonzaga shot a paltry 1-of-17 from beyond the arc.
In addition, three Ole Miss players scored in double figures, as they also held Gonzaga to under 50 points with a final score of 71-48. With the first-round victory under the belt, Ole Miss turns their attention to the No. 5 team in the country as they advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.
A Mutual Admiration Society
Since the start of the tournament, the head coaches of Ole Miss and Stanford have expressed admiration for each other even as they prepare for a battle.
As a young, dynamic coach, Ole Miss’ Yolett McPhee-McCuin discussed how she relishes the moment facing Tara VanDerveer but also focuses on the task at hand.
“It’s incredible,” she said about the opportunity to face Stanford’s Hall of Fame coach. “I grew up being a student of the game, so obviously, Tara is someone that I have admired. I’ve had time to meet with her a couple of times. But I think this is the first time she like knows who I am,” she laughed.
Given the positive comments VanDerveer made about McPhee-McCuin, it’s clear she knows exactly who the Ole Miss coach is and admires her as well.
“Well, I saw Coach Yo as she was coming on the court, and she’s done a fabulous job,” VanDerveer commented about seeing her opponent for the first time this week.
She compared her trajectory in bringing Stanford to national prominence to that of the Rebels coach.
“[A] little bit, I think, similar to me coming to Stanford, she took over a program that was — and like Dawn Staley – taken a program from the outhouse to the penthouse. Dawn is definitely in the penthouse. Coach Yo is looking to do the same thing.”
However, some factors were not in play in women’s basketball when VanDerveer arrived at Stanford 37 seasons ago.
“I think things are…
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