Sira Thienou bone bruise cited for Ole Miss late-season collapse

Sira Thienou’s bone bruise has left Ole Miss scrambling late in the regular season, a struggle head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin blamed for a four-game losing streak that ended with a 66-58 defeat at Texas A&M at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion on March 1. The Rebels entered the game 21-10 overall and 8-8 in SEC play, and Thienou has not played since the home win over Tennessee on Feb. 17.

McPhee-McCuin framed the collapse as the consequence of forced lineup changes after Thienou’s absence. “It seems like we're in a decline right now,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I'd like to argue different. I don't think we're in a decline, I think we have a brand-new team at a crucial time, which is the last two weeks of the season. That's really not favorable.” She added bluntly, “We just don’t have any margin of error with Sira being out, and it’s definitely showing its head.”

The coach outlined why Thienou’s loss matters on both ends of the court. “Sira starts our defense. She rebounds for us. She was shooting 45 percent from the field, almost 40 percent from three. She was our lead defender. She averaged five rebounds a game. That’s what we’re missing,” McPhee-McCuin said. Team medical updates say the bone bruise is not season-ending, and an X post stated: “Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin notes Sira Thienou has a bone bruise and will return this season at some point.” McPhee-McCuin would not commit to getting Thienou back for the SEC Tournament and said she would hold Thienou out if she does not think it is in Thienou’s best interest to play.

The March 1 loss at Texas A&M was hurt by an early hole. “That 23–13 first quarter just completely took us out,” McPhee-McCuin said. With Thienou sidelined, a player identified only as Thompson moved into an expanded role; Thompson was the No. 2 scorer with 12 points in the Texas A&M game, and all four SEC games in which Thompson played at least 20 minutes occurred during Thienou’s injury stretch (Texas A&M is presented in one line as (14-11, 7-9) in the game context).

The late skid has also affected national standing. The team was described in one passage as No. 20 while another line said the Rebels were ranked No. 16 and “are now in danger of falling out of the polls and on the outside looking in at a top-16 host seed in the NCAA Tournament.” Ole Miss earned a No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament, secured a bye and is scheduled to play March 5 at 5:00 p.m. CT in Greenville, South Carolina against the winner of Texas A&M and Auburn.

McPhee-McCuin acknowledged the disappointment of the timing, noting the loss carried extra sting on Senior Day. “I hate that we lost the game because it’s Senior Day, and who wants to lose on Senior Day?” she said, later adding, “But glass half full, I could be in another situation and this could be the end of our season—and I just know that’s not the case.” With the SEC Tournament opener looming, Ole Miss faces a critical stretch without a clear timeline for Thienou’s return and must show whether this “brand-new team” can steady itself and preserve NCAA positioning.