Winners of 12 straight, Ole Miss women's basketball says COVID pause won't slow team down
OXFORD — No team wants to sit through a two-week interruption, but especially not a squad like the Ole Miss women's basketball team.
Ole Miss (12-1) is on a 12-game winning streak, is receiving votes in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and has the sixth-best scoring defense in the NCAA. But when the Rebels take the court Thursday night for their SEC opener against Florida (5 p.m., SEC Network Plus), it will be their first game in 15 days following a holiday break and a COVID-19 outbreak that resulted in two games being postponed.
THE STREAK: Ole Miss women's basketball barreling toward SEC play on longest win streak in 2 decades
"I really hate that we didn't play," coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. "We were really pumped about that game. But in the COVID pandemic era, you have to be prepared to pivot. I think our team will do that."
McPhee-McCuin didn't get into specifics of how many of her players and assistants tested positive to cause the postponements. She did say she's "pretty confident" the team shouldn't have any more positives this season "if this science is correct."
McPhee-McCuin said she should have 100% of her roster available when the Rebels return to the court Thursday.
The coach urged her players to get COVID tests while they were home over the Christmas holiday after two players reported symptoms and tested positive. The team is 100% vaccinated and the NCAA and SEC do not require vaccinated players to test for COVID unless they experience symptoms but based on the timing and how frequently the players are in close contact with one another, McPhee-McCuin said she still believed testing was the best choice.
What resulted was one of college basketball's hottest teams having to sit through a cool down.
"The reality is that you do want to keep going, but that's not the case," McPhee-McCuin said. "We're not the only team that had that situation. I was talking to one of my friends on the men's side. They had a pause last year and when they came back from the pause they won 12 games in a row. We're not going to use it as an excuse. As far as we're concerned, we're on a 12-game win streak and we want to keep that going."
Starting SEC play
Instead of dates with Arkansas and No. 1 South Carolina, the Rebels now start their SEC slate with games against Florida (10-4, 0-1 SEC) and No. 8 Tennessee.
The Rebels are in a familiar position. Last year they entered SEC play with a 6-0 record. They had their final non-conference game postponed and didn't play for 16 days leading into their SEC opener. They started strong, but still lost in overtime despite leading by as many as 13 points in the second half.
It's difficult to endure after a COVID pause. McPhee-McCuin said she feels her team is in a good place conditioning wise and players like senior guard Angel Baker said they feel ready to play. But no one would fault the Rebels if there was some natural rust.
"We've had this happen before, but I think with the little pause, I think our group is way more mature and more prepared to handle a situation like this," McPhee-McCuin said.
Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss women's basketball isn't slowing down after COVID pause
