GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph defended her decision to walk on to the court and argue a call with an official, leading to her ejection in the fourth quarter of her team’s 89-78 loss to No. 24 Mississippi on Friday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Ralph walked to the middle of the court after an official whistled Mikayla Blakes for a fourth foul after the Vanderbilt star dived to the floor to retrieve a loose ball along with a Rebels player.
She pointed her finger at the official and made some comments. Moments later, she was thrown out.
“I wasn’t trying to get kicked out,” Ralph said. “I was on the court. But I also think that at that time what I said was warranted. And the action that I took was warranted. You want to kick me out for it, then they can kick me out. What I do love is the fight of my team. There is only so many ways you can say something over and over again. So I said it differently (to the official) and got kicked out, which is fine. First time in my career."
Asked to elaborate on why she felt her actions were justified, Ralph responded by saying she didn't want to be fined.
Then, she added, “We just want consistency from our team, from our staff, from everybody that is involved in the game of basketball. That’s it. That is all I’m looking for — and respect.”
After being escorted off the floor by security, she watched the rest of the game from the locker room and said she was proud that her team fought back to cut a 32-point deficit to nine with about three minutes left.
“What I saw from my team was maybe the coolest thing that has happened all year. The fight that they showed, the togetherness, just the way they responded was really special,” she said.
She also praised Blakes, the SEC's leading scorer this season, for staying level-headed and battling back to score 24 points after missing her first 12 shots and not scoring her first field goal until late in the third quarter.
“I thought she was fouled,” Ralph said of Blakes. “She was being held and there are only so many you can respond to that. ... What I know about her is she is going to fight to win the game. Never count her or us out. That kid fought to the very end because that is who she is. It was great to see her be vocal leader. Whether we are up 30 or down 30, that is who she is.”
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Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph reacts during first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Ole Miss in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph leaves the game after being ejected during second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Three people have been killed in an apparent tornado in southern Michigan on Friday, authorities said, as powerful storms ripped across the state, tearing the roof off a home improvement store and knocking down trees.
The Branch County Sheriff’s Office said three people were also taken to the hospital after the apparent tornado hit the Union Lake area, which is about 125 miles (200 km) west of Detroit.
At least one tornado was confirmed in southern Michigan, near Union City, on Friday, according to the National Weather Service, and there may have been others.
At Lisa Piper's home near Union City, she can be heard repeatedly yelling out, “Oh my God,” as she films from her back deck a ferocious rotating column of air that appears to be a tornado tear through an section of buildings across the lake from her. As its size grows, pulling large pieces of debris into the air, she says, “It’s lifting houses.”
“Oh my heart is pounding,” she says in the video. “Oh, I hope they’re OK.”
The state had the right conditions for a tornado because of a weather system that pulled moisture out of the Gulf of Mexico and a warm front that moved north, said David Roth, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. The system encountered much cooler air in the Great Lakes area.
Michigan gets an average of 15 tornadoes a year, which is much less than 155 for Texas and 96 in Kansas, he said.
In St. Joseph County, Michigan, next to the Indiana border, the sheriff’s office told residents to “seek shelter immediately” following reports of an unconfirmed tornado, a severe thunderstorm watch and possible winds more than 60 mph (96.6 kph).
“Citizens should anticipate power outages, closed roadways and/or neighborhoods and cellular/internet interruptions,” the office said on Facebook.
The state activated its Emergency Operations Center as officials responded to serious wind damage.
In Edwardsburg, Michigan, area, near the Indiana border, officials reported downed trees and several homes that had been heavily damaged, and warned residents to avoid the area.
Powerful storms formed Friday afternoon from Michigan, all the way to North Texas.
In an eerie scene captured on video Thursday, a first responder drove straight at a storm near the western Oklahoma town of Fairview, where flashes of lightning illuminated a giant funnel that appeared to reach the ground. That storm, among the first outbreaks of severe weather on the verge of the spring storm season, was filmed by a camera mounted on the deputy's car.
Nearby, a 47-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter from Fairview were found dead in a vehicle near an intersection of a highway and a county road at about 10 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.
“Severe weather struck Major County last night and tragically claimed the lives of a mother and daughter," Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement Friday. "I am praying for the family as they grieve this tragic loss, as well as all those impacted by the storms.”
More than 7 million Americans were at the highest risk of severe weather Friday in an area that includes the metropolitan areas of Kansas City, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Omaha, Nebraska, according to the national Storm Prediction Center. Nearly 25 million people were at a slightly lesser risk in a zone that includes Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Severe, scattered thunderstorms are expected Friday evening from areas of the Plains states to the Ozarks and Midwest, the National Weather Service said.
The general setup for the strong storms is a clash between warm air streaming north from the Gulf Coast and cooler Canadian air behind cold fronts, according to meteorologists with the private forecasting service AccuWeather.
The spring storms in the forecast come near the start of what many call tornado season, which generally begins at various times in different parts of the U.S. Experts recommend a few simple safety steps to take before tornadoes hit, including having a weather radio and a plan for where to take shelter.
The weather began to ease Friday in some areas of the Northeast, but Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut remained under weather advisories. In Ohio, flood warnings were issued in the southern part of the state.
In parts of the southern U.S., the weather pattern is also expected to usher in extremely warm temperatures for this time of year by the weekend.
“Temperatures will be 20-30 degrees above average, with 80s reaching as far north as parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic,” federal forecasters wrote in their long-range forecast discussion. “Daily records could become widespread.”
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McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire, and Martin reported from Atlanta. Associated Press Writer Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, contributed.
Damage is seen at Menard's store after a severe storm in Three Rivers, Mich., Friday, March 6, 2026. (Devin Anderson-Torrez/Jackson Citizen Patriot via AP)
Damage is seen after a severe storm in Three Rivers, Mich., Friday, March 6, 2026. (Devin Anderson-Torrez/Jackson Citizen Patriot via AP)
Damage is seen after a severe storm in Three Rivers, Mich., Friday, March 6, 2026. (Devin Anderson-Torrez/Jackson Citizen Patriot via AP)
Damage is seen at the Menard's store after a severe storm in Three Rivers, Mich., Friday, March 6, 2026. (Devin Anderson-Torrez/Jackson Citizen Patriot via AP)
FILE - This photo shows the National Weather Service monitoring station in Brownville, Texas, May 23, 2014. (David Pike/Valley Morning Star via AP, File)
This image taken from video provided by the Fairview, Okla., Emergency Management shows a severe weather system west of Fairview, Okla., late Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Danny Giager/ Fairview Emergency Management via AP)
