PALO ALTO, CA – MARCH 19: Myah Taylor #1 of the Ole Miss Rebels celebrates the win against the … [+]
The Ole Miss Rebels (8) took down Stanford (1) in a 54-49 victory at Maples Pavillion during the Second Round of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Rebels, who under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin pride themselves on defense, kept the 2021 NCAA Champions to seven points in the second quarter.
“The person with the experience is at the mercy of the person with the anointing,” MCCuin said in her opening remarks during the postgame press conference. It is a saying one of her mentors shared and it felt apropos after defeating the legendary Tara Vanderveer and the Stanford Cardinal.
“I told my team like, I just love them so much and I don’t want to stop having this feeling. so, who knows? Maybe we end up in Dallas,” McCuin said.
Two more wins would get Ole Miss to Dallas, the host city of the 2023 Women’s Final Four. But first, the Rebels will await their opponent. Louisville and Texas tipoff at 7:00 PM ET for the chance to play Ole Miss in the Sweet 16 round.
The Rebels established a nine point lead by halftime and although Stanford won the final two quarters, the damage had already been done. Guard Angel Baker led the Rebels with 13 points and tallied four rebounds in the upset.
During the contest, Stanford tied the game three times but never held a lead. Baker felt her teams performance had a lot to do with knowing exactly who they are.
“We’ve been battle tested, we’ve fallen short, and it was finally our time to step into that moment and come out on top. I feel like we walked in with confidence and knew who we were from the jump” the senior guard told media after the win.
Disappointing, Not Depressing
For the Cardinal, Cameron Brink led all players with 20 buckets and 13 rebounds. Stanford senior Hayley Jones contributed 16 points in her final NCAA game. Jones is considered by most to be a guaranteed first-round pick at the 2023 WNBA Draft happening in New York City April 10th. She will have time to reflect on the loss and her final Stanford season before transitioning to the professional game
“It’s not the way that I wanted my senior year to end,” Jones told media Sunday. However, she made a point to correct a reporter classifying the loss as depressing.
“I wouldn’t say depressing, I would say disappointing,” Jones corrected. “I think it’s tough when you lose a game when, you feel like as a team, this wasn’t your best all-around game,” Jones said.
The Cardinal are the first top overall seed to be eliminated from the 2023 NCAA Women’s Tournament. South Carolina and Virginia Tech have advanced to the Sweet 16, and Indiana will play Miami (9) tonight.
Game Schedule Monday, March 20:
North Carolina (6) vs. Ohio State (3) – 4:00pm ET
Toledo (12) vs. Tennessee (4) – 6:00 pm ET
Florida Gulf Coast University (12) vs. Villanova (4) – 7:00 pm ET
Louisville (5) vs. Texas (4) – 7:00 pm ET
Indiana (1) vs. Miami (9) – 8:00 pm ET
Baylor (7) vs, UConn (2) – 9:00 pm ET
Colorado (6) vs. Duke (3) – 9:00 pm ET
Oklahoma (5) vs. UCLA (4) – 10:00 pm ET
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericalayala/2023/03/20/ncaa-womens-basketball-recap-ole-miss-takes-down-stanford-in-second-round/