Despite KK Deans’ thrilling performance, Mississippi falls short of upsetting Texas

Facing a 13-point deficit entering the fourth quarter against No. 2 seed Texas, with a spot in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals on the line, Deans uttered two words with confidence and passion. 

“Ten minutes,” the sixth-year guard said.

Then Deans delivered one of the best fourth-quarter sparks a coach could ask for. However, her heroics, along with big buckets from second-team All-SEC guard/forward Madison Scott and forward Christeen Iwuala, didn’t result in Mississippi advancing. Texas (30-2) held on to defeat No. 7 seed Mississippi (20-10) 70-63.

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Mississippi entered Friday’s quarterfinals on the heels of a win over rival Mississippi State on Thursday. But on Friday against the Longhorns — who are ranked No. 1 in the nation yet seeded second in the SEC Tournament — Mississippi failed to make a field goal in the final 8:18 of the third quarter and was limited to a meager 7 points in the frame. 

“We stopped being aggressive,” Mississippi head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin told reporters postgame. “We wanted the officials to call the fouls. … It really took us out of our rhythm. …

“Seventeen points [in the first quarter], 16 [in the second], 7 [in the third] and then we scored 23 in the fourth. Elite-level execution at the end of the game. We just sometimes converted, sometimes didn’t. We have to learn from this.”

With under seven minutes to play in the contest, Scott found Deans, who converted a layup and drew a foul. That resulted in a 3-point play and some confidence for a team that had been struggling offensively. 

It was the spark that Deans — who in that moment notched her first points of the second half after scoring 8 in the first two quarters — and her teammates needed. From there, Deans ripped off three consecutive 3-pointers, cutting the deficit to 2 points with 4:29 remaining and energizing a strong faction of Mississippi fans sitting behind the team’s bench. Deans hadn’t notched five or more 3-pointers since a loss to Tennessee on Feb. 16.

However, in the next 4:29, Texas outscored Mississippi 10-5, using timely buckets, rebounds and free throws. 

“We responded,” Deans told reporters postgame. “We went in there with an attitude that it was win or go home. … [Now] we gotta take that same fight and do the little things to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.”

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Deans finished with a game-high 20 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including 5-for-8 from beyond the arc — one shy of her season high — in the loss. She came into Friday’s game averaging 9.0 points per game and as the team’s second-best 3-point shooter, hitting 33.5% from beyond the arc this season.

In Mississippi’s 29 previous games this season, Deans had only led her team in scoring five times. But she stepped up on Friday.

“She’s the lieutenant,” Scott told The Next about Deans in December. “She’s a leader who wears many hats, always gives what the team needs and doesn’t complain.”

As the lights shined on Deans in the postgame press conference, she said Texas wasn’t the reason Mississippi lost on Friday.

“We just didn’t come up with a key rebound,” Deans said. “It’s not really anything anybody else is doing to us. We know what we need to do. … Fifty-fifty balls and coming up with key rebounds, we got to come up with those things.”

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While Mississippi’s dream of earning the SEC Tournament crown was dashed, its NCAA Tournament dream is still alive. Mississippi is 12th in the latest NCAA NET rankings and is projected to be a No. 4 seed in the Big Dance, meaning it would host the first two rounds at The Pavilion in Oxford, Mississippi.

However, Mississippi remains unranked in the AP top 25 despite upsetting LSU on Sunday. After playing competitively for the second time against the Longhorns, McPhee-McCuin hopes that will change before the NCAA Tournament begins.

“Do we look like we’re an unranked team?” McPhee-McCuin said after Friday’s loss. “We’re not No. 1. We can’t make the case because we didn’t beat Texas and they’re No. 1. But we sure should be in the top 25. … Nobody wants to see Ole Miss in their bracket.”

WIth the NCAA Tournament starting in 12 days, Mississippi has a chance to rest and make adjustments. It also puts reality in the eyes of Deans and four other veteran players that their time in a Mississippi uniform is coming to an end.

“I value KK and all of our seniors,” McPhee-McCuin said. “… I told them to use this time to rest and reflect, because the next time we lose, it’s over. They’re in class. We’re talking to agents. They’re getting ready to leave this nest that the University of Mississippi has provided for them, and it’s a pretty good nest, and then they get to go into the real world. … I don’t want them to have regrets when they’re done playing for Ole Miss.”

As for Deans, when she and her teammates take the hardwood for the NCAA Tournament, she plans to leave everything on the floor and make things difficult for their opponent.

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