March 19, 2023 — It marks the first time in 14 years that any 1 seed did not make the Sweet 16 in the Women’s NCAA Tournament. The Stanford Cardinal (29-6) were the overall 1-seed in the Seattle 4 region. 

After cruising through the first round by defeating 16 seed Sacred Heart, the Cardinal would face the 8-seed Ole Miss Rebels (25-8). The Rebels came off of a first round victory over 9-seed Gonzaga by a score of 71-48. Head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels is Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin.

In the first quarter, the Rebels would get off to a hot start highlighted by Angel Baker and Madison Scott and would be up by 5. In the second quarter, Ole Miss would once again out score Stanford thanks to the shooting of Ayanna Thompson. They would enter the half being up 29-20. After the half, Stanford would finally outscore the Rebels by 2 after a huge third quarter showing from Cameron Brink. In the 4th quarter, Cameron Brink would continue to highlight the scoring for the Cardinal. In the end, the Rebels would pull off the 4 point upset win.

The final two perfect brackets would be shattered thanks to a combined 37 of 54 team points from Angel Baker (13), Marquesha Davis (12), and Madison Scott (11). 

After the game, Coach Yo would praise how much the team has done after booking their ticket to the next round. 

“This is for the people with a dollar and a dream,” Yo said after defeating 1-seed Stanford. “I’m a little girl from the Bahamas that was given an opportunity. I wasn’t Ole Miss’ first choice, but I was the right one. And I was naive enough to think that I could do it, and that’s what no ceilings means…that there’s no limit. I’m just really proud to be the head coach here.”

Just three years ago, this team was 0-16 in conference play. Now they are headed to the Sweet 16. The Rebels will face 5-seed Louisville in the Sweet 16 on March 24, and will once again go into the game as underdogs.