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Women’s Basketball Duo Picks Up SEC Postseason Accolades

Women’s Basketball Duo Picks Up SEC Postseason Accolades

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – (Release) Ole Miss women’s basketball’s Shakira Austin (First-Team All-SEC) and Angel Baker (Sixth Woman of the Year) have been honored by the league’s coaches after a stellar 2021-22 regular season as the SEC announced its yearly conference awards Tuesday. For the second straight season, Austin finds her name on First-Team All-SEC being the eighth Rebel to earn consecutive honors and the first since Tia Faleru did so in 2014 & 2015. Austin built off of a dominant junior year to carry that momentum into her senior campaign, as the 6-5 forward from Fredericksburg, Virginia, has been key for Ole Miss at both ends of the court. The Wooden Award Late Season Top-20 member paces the Rebels averaging 15.0 points, 8.9 rebounds while adding 1.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.9 blocks per game after starting in all 29 contests during the regular season. As one of the best centers in the nation, the Lisa Leslie Award Top-10 Finalist is one of seven active players in Division I with 1,500 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She currently leads the SEC in active rebounds with a total of 1,038 and eclipsed the 200-career block mark this season, sitting at a total of 232. With nine double-doubles on the year, Austin has reached the double-digit point mark in 21 games and recorded eight 20-point performances. The productivity for Austin increased once SEC play hit, averaging 16.1 points, 9.3 rebounds points per game while shooting at an efficient 47.2 percent clip from the field. Some of her best work occurred against conference foes with a season-high 26 points against Tennessee, along with 16 rebounds against Arkansas to set an SJB Pavilion record. For the first time in program history, a Rebel has been named as the SEC Sixth Woman of the Year with Baker earning the distinction. In her first year donning a Rebel uniform after transferring to Ole Miss after three seasons at Wright State, Baker was not afraid to make some noise appearing as a reserve in 20 out of her 27 games. Off the bench, Baker came in to score in double-figures 11 times, including four 20-point outings. A season-high 24 points against Texas Tech at the West Palm Beach Invitational led to her earning Ole Miss’ only SEC Weekly honors of the season, garnering SEC Co-Player of the Week accolades on Dec. 28.The Indianapolis product ranks third on the team in points adding 10.2 per game and has been clutch from beyond the arc with 22 triples. In her second game as a Rebel, Baker put on a show against MVSU shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Her 80% clip from three was the highest by a Rebel with five or more attempts since Shandricka Sessom went 5-of-6 for 83.3 percent against Delaware State in 2017. Ole Miss (22-7, 10-6 SEC) heads into this week’s SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, following its best finish in conference play since 1993-94 as the No. 4 seed. The Rebels await the winner of game four to face off against in the quarterfinals on Friday (March 4) at approximately 2:25 p.m. CT on SEC Network. First Team All-SECKiara Smith                 Florida                              Jenna Staiti                 Georgia                            Rhyne Howard            Kentucky                          Khayla Pointer            LSU                                   Shakira Austin            Ole Miss                           Aliyah Boston             South Carolina                Destanni Henderson   South Carolina   Jordan Horston           Tennessee                         Second Team All-SECBrittany Davis             Alabama                          Amber Ramirez          Arkansas                          Aicha Coulibaly          Auburn                             Que Morrison             Georgia                            Alexis Morris              LSU                                   Anastasia Hayes       Mississippi St     Aijha Blackwell          Missouri                           Hayley Frank             Missouri                           Zia Cooke                  South Carolina                Tamari Key                Tennessee                         All-Freshman TeamSamara Spencer          Arkansas               Jersey Wolfenbarger    Arkansas               Alberte Rimdal              Florida   Jada Walker                 Kentucky               Denae Carter               Mississippi State Sara Puckett                Tennessee            Sacha Washington      VanderbiltIyana Moore                Vanderbilt             All-Defensive TeamKiara Smith                 Florida   Que Morrison             Georgia  Aliyah Boston             South Carolina     Tamari Key                 Tennessee            Jordyn Cambridge      Vanderbilt Coach – Dawn StaleyPlayer – Aliyah BostonDefensive Player – Aliyah BostonFreshman – Samara SpencerSixth-Woman – Angel BakerScholar-Athlete – Mikayla Coombs

Evelyn Van Pelt

Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.

About The Author

Evelyn Van Pelt

Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.

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