What impressed Coach Yo last season before Kim Caldwell brought her style to Lady Vols
Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin was watching Kim Caldwell at Marshall last March.
After Marshall beat James Madison in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship, McPhee-McCuin posted she was a fan of the Herd on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"HELL OF A GAME! 1st of all 2 great coaches! (Players) left it all on the floor! I am def a fan of Marshall! I love how she subs & coaches her team! They. Play. So. Hard!! incredible culture!" McPhee-McCuin wrote.
After Caldwell's successful run with Marshall, she was hired to be the next Lady Vols basketball coach in April. And on Sunday, No. 16 Tennessee beat Ole Miss 80-71 at Food City Center.
The Lady Vols (19-6, 6-6 SEC) were led by 28 points from Jewel Spear, and they scored 24 points off of Ole Miss' 19 turnovers.
Tennessee's 40 minutes of full-court pressing and fast-paced offense was difficult to counter in the Rebels' third game of the week, McPhee-McCuin said.
"I'm not taking anything away from them, but with their style, it's not a team that you want to play in your third game in six days," McPhee-McCuin said. "But nevertheless, I do think it's a style that is going to be very good in tournament-style play, because they're just going to wear teams down. And if you don't have a lot of time to prepare, it could be detrimental."
Ole Miss only scored four points off Tennessee's 20 turnovers, which is uncharacteristic for the Rebels. McPhee-McCuin said she was trying to control the pace of the game with their third game of the week. If they didn't have a layup, she wanted her team to use the clock instead of trying to score right away.
SPEARMAN: How Kim Caldwell helped Zee Spearman find another gear in breakout season with Lady Vols
Ole Miss also struggled to finish, going 8-for-26 on layups, and it settled for too many 3-pointers early in the game.
"If you're going to beat a team like Tennessee, you have to be disciplined," McPhee-McCuin said. "The game, when you play Tennessee, can't be in the 80s. The game has to be in the 60s. So you have to limit those possessions, and you have to humble yourself and just be like, 'You know what? I know I can make this three, but right now, let me go and get a layup.'
"And that was, that was the game plan. But it's hard because your team, they're full of competitors, and they want to punch back."
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women's athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora's coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What impressed Coach Yo last season before Kim Caldwell joined Lady Vols
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