Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin calls out officiating after Cotie McMahon fouls out in loss to Minnesota
No. 4 Minnesota beat No. 5 Ole Miss on Sunday after a thrilling comeback, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in more than 20 years. Amaya Battle’s buzzer-beating jumper secured the stunning victory, but it didn’t help that the Rebels were playing with their best player, Cotie McMahon on the bench after she fouled out with four minutes left in the game.
McMahon’s fifth and final foul of the game was on offense, as the senior was called for a charge. It was the second offensive foul for McMahon, who picked up her second foul just three minutes into the game on another call that seemed a little soft.
Postgame, when asked about the fouls and the refereeing, Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin was clear on her opinion, if slightly hesitant of getting on the wrong side of an NCAA fine.
“I got to see how to answer that without getting in any trouble,” McPhee-McCuin said to start off, before continuing: “From my point of view, the last call was incorrect. We watched it 1,500 times. One of the things I do understand is that officials are human and environments create them to officiate in a particular type of way. I don't think that's why we lost the game. I just know that Cotie is leading scorer, newcomer of the year, all of the things, and she plays 20 minutes.
“And it's disappointing. These fans deserved more than that. The game deserves more than that, and I just think a officiating as a whole really needs to be looked at. I really do. I'm not just talking about this game. Something has to be done. It has to be better.”
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McPhee-McCuin added that she hasn’t seen other star players go through the same situation as McMahon in a high stakes game, mentioning Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark as examples. (She also choose not to name current star players, joking that someone will accuse her of “tampering.”)
“I was in the locker room thinking about other star players on teams. I've just never seen them fouled out in a March Madness game. I just haven't. Paige, Caitlin,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I just haven't seen the best players get fouled out.”
For what it’s worth, McPhee-McCuin is correct that neither Clark or Bueckers fouled out of a NCAA tournament game, but both came close: Clark picked up four fouls in the 2023 final against LSU, while Bueckers ended three March Madness games (the 2021 Final Four, 2022 Sweet Sixteen and 2025 Elite Eight) with four fouls.
McMahon, who transferred from Ohio State for her senior year, fouled out two other times this season, and picked up 75 personal fouls over the course of the season. But that physicality is something that McPhee-McCuin has heavily praised: In a press conference on Saturday, McPhee-McCuin said that McMahon’s presence, especially in a physical conference like the SEC, is what will lead to her success in the WNBA.
“The SEC is the baby WNBA and in the WNBA you're playing with grown women, and so there is a component that if you're not physical enough you won't be able to succeed,” McPhee-McCuin said. “That's why Cotie is going to be a first round pick, because she's physically fit for the next level. So I'm fine when people talk about the physicality of the league because that's what it is. We have a bunch of high level athletes that are preparing themselves to play at the next level.”