Sunday was a special day in Oxford, Mississippi, as the Ole Miss Rebels welcomed the defending National Champion LSU Tigers to the Pavilion for one of the most anticipated basketball games in school history. Lines begin to form outside the arena well over two hours before tip-off as fans from all walks of life, clad in their respective colors, join together for an exciting afternoon of basketball. After all, it was a chance to see an established program at LSU coached by a basketball legend, Kim Mulkey, playing a basketball program on the brink of reaching a Final Four in Ole Miss, coached by one of the best young coaches in Coach Yo.

Traffic was heavy about two hours before tip-off, with fans mingling through local establishments and lining the sidewalks awaiting the chance to make their fans into the Pavillion for a Sunday afternoon of basketball. As the gates opened, fans from all walks of life raced to their seats to watch each team warm up, creating an environment worthy of a Final Four.

As warm-ups commenced, little girls from all walks gathered around the court and yelled from the stands for Angel Reese, Hailey Van Lith, and several Ole Miss players, all of whom acknowledged those young fans taking pictures and doing their part to grow the game, encouraging those to do the same.

As the game progressed, for all four quarters until the final buzzer, the crowd delivered an unbelievable environment, giving the game an NCAA Tournament feel. On one side, the LSU fans, who, at times, made it sound like the PMAC with chants of LSU and Geaux Tigers. On the other were the Ole Miss fans who delivered their best effort for Coach Yo and the Rebels, powering the hometown Ole Miss Rebels to make a run at the lead in the third quarter. The Ole Miss faithful broke the program attendance record on Sunday with 9,074 in attendance for the matchup with LSU.

Sunday was so impressive that when asked Coach Kim Mulkey had this to say about the Ole Miss faithful, ” Ole Miss fans need to keep doing that. You have a team that was in the Sweet 16 last year. They play hard. Most important, they play defense, and I love that.”

Coach Pat Summit started growing the game of Women’s Basketball, and legends like Kim Mulkey and modern coaches are taking her vision for the sport to a whole new level. I would encourage anyone from all walks of life to go to your local college and support the Women’s Basketball teams. The future of the sport is very bright and exciting.