By JANIE McCAULEY (AP Sports Writer)
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Sobbing as she acquired hugs from pals, household and directors, Mississippi coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin tried to understand the magnitude of her group’s gorgeous win in opposition to top-seeded Stanford when somebody reminded her there’s extra basketball to be performed.
Her two younger daughters danced for pleasure on the ground.
Her proud father supplied a shoutout to all people again house in The Bahamas.
Her group posed at midcourt and shouted, “Seattle!” That’s the place the Rebels are headed subsequent.
Madison Scott hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left that gave Mississippi the lead for good, Angel Baker scored 13 factors, and the Rebels delivered on their declaration to get defensive, gorgeous top-seeded Stanford 54-49 on Sunday evening to succeed in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the primary time in 16 years.
“First of all just incredibly grateful. I have a lot of mentors in my life and one of my mentors would always say to me that the person with the experience is at the mercy of the one with the anointing,” the 40-year-old McPhee-McCuin stated in reference to Hall of Famer and winningest girls’s coach Tara VanDerveer. “He spoke that over my life maybe 10 years ago. And so to be in this situation right now, to take down an historical program like Stanford, a coach and a woman that I admire I have watched is incredible.”
Behind your entire sport and by no means with a lead, Stanford referred to as timeout with 28 seconds left then Hannah Jump turned the ball over and Scott transformed. Haley Jones misplaced the ball out of bounds on the Cardinal’s final possession with an opportunity to tie then once more within the waning moments.
Marquesha Davis hit a pair of free throws with 15.4 seconds to play as Ole Miss overcame not making a subject aim over the ultimate 5:47, going 0 for 8.
“This is such a big accomplishment. A lot of us came here to make history and that’s what we’re doing,” freshman Ayanna Thompson stated.
These upstart Rebels (25-8) advance to the Seattle Regional semifinal subsequent weekend, whereas VanDerveer’s Stanford group (29-6) is eradicated far sooner than this group envisioned — the season ending on the Cardinal’s house ground. Jones fought tears after her last sport, ending with 16 factors and eight rebounds however 5 turnovers.
“Some of the things we did were self-inflicted. The turnovers really hurt us,” VanDerveer stated. “They’re really a tough team, they’re a lot better than (No.) 8 teams we’ve played before. Sometimes you don’t have a really good matchup.”
Only 4 No. 1 seeds had misplaced earlier than the Sweet 16 since 1994, with Duke the final one in 2009. Stanford did so as soon as earlier than, falling to Sixteenth-seeded Harvard within the first spherical of the 1998 match.
The Cardinal had reached 14 straight Sweet 16s and hadn’t misplaced within the first or second rounds since No. 10 seed Florida State shocked the fifth-seeded Cardinal 68-61 at Maples Pavilion within the second spherical precisely 16 years in the past to the day earlier than on March 19, 2007.
Cameron Brink got here again from a one-game absence due to a abdomen bug to complete with 20 factors, 13 rebounds and 7 blocked photographs, however Stanford by no means led and tried to come back from behind all evening. The program’s profession blocks chief, the junior star completed with 118 on the season and has 297 complete.
“Cam wasn’t 100% today but I thought she really battled,” VanDerveer stated.
Stanford had gained 21 consecutive NCAA video games on its house ground and is 41-5 all-time at Maples throughout March Madness.
Ole Miss led your entire first half on the way in which to a 29-20 benefit on the break at raucous Maples Pavilion, the place the group went wild when Brink blocked three straight photographs in the identical sequence by Rita Igbokwe halfway by the second quarter. About two minutes later, Igbokwe grabbed at her mouth after being hit.
The Rebels bought a scare when senior guard Myah Taylor went down laborious grabbing at her chest with 6:41 left within the third after colliding with Francesca Belibi whereas transferring to defend Indya Nivar. After a brief break to catch her breath, Taylor was again operating the purpose.
The Rebels declared from Day 1 arriving within the Bay Area they have been able to play their tenacious protection to make a mark on the NCAA Tournament. Stanford’s layups usually rolled out. The Cardinal bought referred to as for repeated offensive fouls. They made errors when it mattered most.
“It brought tears to my eyes,” stated Gladstone McPhee, coach McPhee-McCuin’s father. “It’s beautiful. This is what you wait for.”
BIG PICTURE Ole Miss: Parents Gladstone and Daisy cheered on fifth-year coach McPhee-McCuin as her group reached the second spherical after final yr’s first-round exit by South Dakota. Her daughters, 10-year-old Yasmine and Yuri, 5, rooted the group all the way in which, with Yasmine yelling, “That’s my mom!” when Ole Miss got here out earlier than tipoff. … The Rebels superior to the Elite Eight in 2007. After grabbing 24 offensive rebounds within the win in opposition to Gonzaga, the Rebels crashed the boards once more to create second probabilities with 20 extra.
Stanford: The Cardinal additionally by no means led within the first half of 55-46 loss at USC on Jan. 15. … They had a 14-game house successful streak since a 76-71 additional time loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 20. … VanDerveer introduced Jump plans to return for one more yr of eligibility. Jones will flip professional and Belibi has been accepted right into a program at Harvard.
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AP March Madness protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Source: www.bostonherald.com”