NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - SOUTH DAKOTA VS OLE MISS

March 18, 2022

Yolett McPhee-McCuin

Shakira Austin

Angel Baker

Ole Miss Rebels

Media Conference

South Dakota 75 - Ole Miss 61

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: Just want to give kudos to South Dakota. I felt like they came out and played a compete game. They were clearly the more experienced team and they looked like it for 40 minutes.

I felt like each team would have an opportunity to show their style, and whatever style dominated the most would be successful. Obviously their style worked better for them.

With that being said, at the same time, I'm like just extremely proud of our team. You know, just two years ago we didn't win a game in conference, and for 14 years coaches and teams and players have tried to get to that spot that we were in today and have fell short.

I have been a part of three of those years, but I always knew we were building. For us to be here right now, it gives me great joy. It and also gives me assurance to know that the program is heading in the right direction.

So I'm not going to let that get lost in the fact that we didn't win a game today. We will be back and we'll continue to grow. That South Dakota team -- I think I read three times they came and lost in the first round. It was their time.

Look I told you all, I always have respect for South Dakota and Coach Dawn, and I felt like they were -- it was their time.

So kudos to them. But I think that we sent a message today that this is our time and this is where we're going to move forward and grow as a program.

Q. Shakira, I saw you embrace your teammates on the floor at the final buzzer. What are you going through right now?

SHAKIRA AUSTIN: They embraced me. It was just -- just hit me at once, you know, that my senior season is over, my college career is over.

You know, that's not how I want to leave Ole Miss, but like coach said, it's in the right direction. I mean, it was just overwhelming. I just love my teammates and now I have to move on to the next chapter.

So, yeah.

Q. Shakira, how were they able to frustrate you today?

SHAKIRA AUSTIN: I think I was just pretty winded. You know, I wasn't able to really make shots. They were calling some flops and I definitely allowed it to get in my head for a few moments.

Just frustrated that we weren't able to continuously build stops. You know, it's just kind of like a -- I don't know, it's just it was tough. It was definitely tough.

Q. Angel, from your perspective, I think it was 14 points or whatever, halftime you got down to 6 and then they went on a run. Why weren't you guys able to turn the corner and I guess really kind of make a final push?

ANGEL BAKER: I just think we couldn't put enough stops together back-to-back, you know what I'm saying? We would go on a run and just couldn't put enough stops together.

Q. For either of you, I know it's hard right now, but do can you yet appreciate the sense of what you've given to this program and what you've meant and set it on a different trajectory?

SHAKIRA AUSTIN: It's definitely hard right now. It's hard right now.

ANGEL BAKER: It's definitely hard right now in the moment, but I'm very proud of our team. We're going in the right direction.

I think, yeah, we're going in the right direction for sure.

Q. Coach, we talked a lot about defense, for both sides. Both of you have very stout units on that end of the floor. The word "shock" got thrown around a couple times yesterday.

YOLETT McPHEE McCUIN: Not by me.

Q. No, no. Just it did. Did South Dakota surprise you --

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: No.

Q. -- at all with how they were able to handle your defense?

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: Yeah, the word "shock" wasn't thrown around by me and I'm the head coach, so I know South Dakota and I told you I respect them tremendously.

So I thought everything went as it would've. It would've been one or two ways. Ours would've been more aggressive and more effective or theirs would've been more aggressive and more effective.

Ours was less effective I thought.

Q. You talked about experience being a thing in big games. At what point did you see it rear its head today and know it was going to be a factor?

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: When I think 34 hit that three. I think because we had said we didn't want her to hit that three because it would give everybody on their team confidence.

And so I thought once she hit that three it gave them that momentum and it kind of felt like it did in the past maybe when we didn't win a game, where we couldn't get offense going, and then all of a sudden we allowed it to dictate what we did on the defensive end.

And so that's just a sign of a young team. I think experienced teams know who they are, and like we're a defensive team, but sometimes we don't act like we're a defensive team.

Who cares that we scored 12 points in the first quarter. Just make them score 12, you know what I mean?

Or if we score 15, then just make them score 15. But we didn't. I knew that they were the more experienced team coming in and I just felt it from the jump.

Q. I know Shakira had a tough night. A lot of missed shots around the rim. Was that something they were doing or missed opportunities on your end?

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: Yeah, I think someone asked her about what frustrated her. I mean, I just want to go on the record, Kira gets triple teamed every game from Aliyah Boston to Hannah, the young lady Hannah. I don't want to mispronounce her last name.

So I don't know it was them, more so her. She still got up 16 shots. If you had told me that my best player would've gone three for 16 I would've said that you were lying. I know that.

So it's not like they locked her down. Locked down is like she got maybe five shots. She got the shots; she just missed them. It's not like she's never experienced triple and quadruple teams. She sees that all the time.

I thought the moment overwhelmed her like she said, and it was tough because of the pressure she probably put on herself.

I think Kira coming here, that just doesn't happen. People of her caliber don't come and say, I'm going to come to this program and build. And she's been carrying that on her shoulders for the two years she's been here.

I felt like at this moment it reared its head and she was completely frustrated. I don't think -- I'm not taking that away from South Dakota. I'm talking about a 21 year you're old that said, I'm going do something that no one else does.

Even LeBron tries to get three people to come and join his team, right? She came and bet on herself, and there has been a lot of pressure, scrutiny, sacrifices, a lot of fight. I thought today it just brought everything, and that's what you saw with her on the floor. Unfortunately.

Q. Coach, just after the game ended I guess what was your initial message to your team, making it all this way and then obviously not exactly going the way you guys were sort of hoping and anticipating?

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: Yeah, my message to the group, I was just -- I want them to understand what just happened, all right? That we got beat by an experienced group that has been here several times and has fallen short and has learned from it.

But I also wanted them to understand that no one -- they shouldn't allow anybody to take away what has been done. You know, fans think you should win right away. Fans don't know what they're talking about.

When you're building a program and you're not cheating and you're doing things the right way, it takes time. I just expressed to them how proud I was for us to be here. Two years ago we were 0-16 in conference, in I think the most competitive conference in the country.

For us to build and be where we are today, I said you're not going to feel it right now, but when you get a chance, take it in and understand that what you have done is remarkable.

So there are people out there that are going to try to tell them to keep their head up or, you know, you should have done this or should have done that. I just didn't want anybody to rain on their parade. That would be a lie. I don't think people understand how hard it is to build a program.

Honestly, this is happening way sooner than maybe one would think it should be. You know, and so that's what I told them. I even brought up Kentucky. Oh, Kentucky lost. Kentucky has a million one-year players. Of course they're going to lose to a team that had four-year players.

South Dakota had fifth year players on their team. I don't have any fifth that's been with me.

So I wanted to make that point that this is the beginning. I thanked our seniors because they came and did what I asked them to do, help me jump start this thing. So just how I said, it's NCAA tournament or bust.

I can boldly say that we'll be back. That was the message that I wanted them to have.

Q. Going off that, you talked at the top, you said that you want it to be your time next. What do you take from this to make that happen, and what needs to be done this off-season to ensure you can keep things rolling?

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: Yeah, we're going to have to be active in the transfer portal. I wasn't blessed with the transfer protal when I first came. I had to do things organically. I had to get my head beat in for two years.

But now that we do, the rules have changed. So we have to recruit, but we can't just bring in talent. We have to bring in younger pieces that we can grow with.

I'm not a fan of the one-year kid. Not too many of them. Obviously Monk came and she was incredible for us. But I would prefer younger kids because you have to give them time.

For example like Maddie, Kate, Snudda, will be completely different next year. You know, this was their first time at it, so it's tough. So as CEOs and getting into this portal, you have to be careful. We're going to be careful on who we bring in.

We can't bring a bunch of one years. We have to have a healthy mix, and so that's what we're going to be looking to do, have a healthy balance and mix of players that can help us do this so that we don't have to just tear up the sheet and start all over again every year.

So I'm real grateful that we have some returners that have experienced this.

Q. Coach, you talked about what you told the team after this game. What did you say to yourself as you prepare for the future?

YOLETT McPHEE-McCUIN: Dorothy, you always have the best questions. You know what I said to myself? I said Yo, you can't skip steps. You know, you just can't skip steps. My whole life I've had to do things in order.

You know, I didn't have the opportunity to get a job where I was left with a bunch of stars and fifth year seniors, et cetera, et cetera. You know, I wasn't as talented as Angel and Kira. I didn't play in the WNBA. My coach wasn't a legendary coach that can make a call and get me a job.

What you're seeing is someone that has started from the bottom and worked my way up, so why would I think that we would be able to come here and do something in year one? That hasn't been my life for 39 years.

I've had to earn everything that I've gotten.

So what I said to myself is, You can't skip steps. This is where we are. There is a lot to be excited about. We have to continue on the journey and we're just beginning.