A week and a half after beating one Southeastern Conference foe on the road, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball team looks to do it again at home.
UAPB will host Ole Miss at 1 p.m. Thursday at H.O. Clemmons Arena. The game will be streamed on the UAPB Sports Network.
Head coach Dawn Thornton said the Lady Lions are confident.
“I’ve always told this group, ‘Preparation is your separation,'” Thornton said. “Being prepared gives you the confidence that you need against any opponent. We’re not really looking at it as if it is a Ole Miss, an SEC versus a SWAC school. It’s whomever you’re going to play. So, they’re prepared.”
UAPB (4-7) is coming off its historic 74-70 victory at Arkansas on Dec. 10. This was the Lady Lions’ first win against a Power Five team, and they are looking for another.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
This is the second-straight season UAPB hosts an SEC opponent after hosting Arkansas last year. These kinds of matchups tend to be rare since Power Five schools can usually afford to simply pay schools with smaller budgets to come to their arenas.
Thornton said it is unfortunate UAPB doesn’t have the same resources as many other schools, including other members of the University of Arkansas System, but this is an opportunity for the Ole Miss players to see what things are like at a school with less.
“There are other teams that don’t have a third of what you have, and they go out every single day, and they don’t complain about it,” Thornton said. “They put a smile on their face, and they go out and they give it everything that they have. That’s the reason why I commend this group of young ladies that we do have, being that I have so many transfers who’ve left programs that have things. … It’s a beautiful thing for them to want to make history and to leave their name here with this program.”
Ole Miss (8-3) is led by a UAPB alumna, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. “Coach Yo” was an assistant coach at UAPB from 2005-07 and earned her master’s degree while on campus. The Bahamas native was named the first Black female head coach at Ole Miss in 2018.
Thornton said she and McPhee-McCuin are like sisters, and that relationship helped create this matchup. She also said McPhee-McCuin remains a dedicated supporter of the Lady Lions.
“She gives a lot of money to the program as well,” Thornton said. “She wrote a $10,000 check last year, $5,000 year before last. So, she’s committed to the growth and support of this women’s basketball program. She believes in the program. She believes in me, and she gives back. For her to even be here, playing here, just goes in line with what she believes in.”
The Lady Lions’ win at Arkansas was a breakthrough for a team that had had some close calls against Power Five opponents Oregon State and Mississippi State. Coming into Thursday’s game, UAPB has won three of its past four games, including a road win at SMU.
UAPB guard Zaay Green said the Lady Lions proved in Fayetteville they can win these types of games.
“We have a lot more confidence now,” Green said. “It’s like, we actually know we can beat these teams now, not just play with them. We got a little chip on our shoulder now.”
After a busy early schedule, the Lady Lions had 10 off days between the Arkansas game and this one. The long layoff has given the players time to rest, and UAPB has gotten several players back from injury, including guard Corina Carter.
Carter started the first six games this season but hasn’t played since Nov. 26 against Clemson. She averaged 8 points per game before her injury. Thornton said senior guard Tia Morgan will return after Christmas break.
Senior guard Jelissa Reese said the Lady Lions have spent a lot of time practicing, ensuring they stay in rhythm despite not playing.
“We get in here and we go up and down against our practice boys,” Reese said. “We go over all of our offenses. We go over our defenses, just so we can stay where we need to be.”
The Rebels have played in mostly lower-scoring games. Ole Miss averages 67.9 points per game while holding opponents to 54.9 points. UAPB games tend to be higher scoring, with the Lady Lions averaging 77.4 points per game while allowing 74.5.
Marquesha Davis, an Arkansas transfer, and Snudda Collins lead Ole Miss in scoring with 11.9 and 11.5 points per game, respectively.
Thornton said Ole Miss’ style of play makes it tough for opponents to score.
“I think with them wanting to be able to attack and get downhill and get to the basket a lot, get to the free throw line, is a reason why a lot of teams are scoring the ball so low, also, because you’re in foul trouble,” Thornton said. “They slow the game down a lot, but we get up a lot of shots… So, it would be really interesting for me to see them to keep us under 60 points.”