Let the Good Times Roll: Ole Miss’ Angel Baker and Madison Scott earn All-SEC honors

Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said a few weeks back the Rebels were ‘a program to be reckoned with.’ 

They’re certainly being awarded as such. 

Ole Miss had two players named All-SEC on Tuesday. Angel Baker — a dynamic scoring guard in her second Ole Miss season since transferring in from Wright State — earned first-team honors. Junior forward Madison Scott was named to the second team.

“I love Ole Miss,” McPhee-McCuin said following a close loss to top-ranked South Carolina nearly two weeks ago. The Gamecocks are one of just three SEC teams the Rebels haven’t beaten under McPhee-McCuin. 

The others are LSU and Tennessee. 

McPhee-McCuin added, “I have a lot of pride being a part of the Oxford community, and I have a lot of pride being the head coach here. One other team took South Carolina to overtime — Stanford. Who else? We’re on the move. We’re building. Good times ahead, and we’re just getting started.”

RELATED: Ole Miss on Sunday made history and rallied for a Top 4 seed in the SEC Tournament

Leading the charge has been Baker and Scott. 

Baker is an All-SEC selection for the second season in a row. She was SEC Sixth-Woman of the Year a year ago. Baker is the second Rebel under McPhee-McCuin to pick up first-team All-SEC honors and the 15th player in school history. 

Baker is a finalist for Gillom Trophy Award, handed out each year to the best college basketball player in Mississippi. She leads the Rebels in scoring (15.0 points per game). She’s scored double-digit points in 21 games, including seven 20-point games.

Baker has been key in the Rebels’ race to a 22-7 record. They’re 11-5 in the SEC, tied for the most league wins in a single season in school history. They secured the No. 4 seed and a double-bye to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament with their regular-season-finale win on Sunday. 

“Hard-fought victory, as expected,” McPhee-McCuin said after the win. 

McPhee-McCuin is on the verge of taking the Rebels to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time in nearly a decade. Ole Miss has reached the NCAA Tournament 18 times in school history but just once since 2007. The Rebels that year matched the program’s best-ever mark by reaching the Elite Eight. 

Ole Miss was bounced by South Dakota in the first round last season.

“We believe in each other,” McPhee-McCuin continued. “There were moments where (Alabama) broke us — moments of a young, immature team. I challenged them, ‘We cannot respond this way in the last game of the season (and) knowing what we’re trying to do,’ which is build momentum for the SEC Tournament and get better so we can play in the NCAA Tournament.”

Baker is averaging 16.1 points per game in SEC games. 

She eclipsed the 2,000 career-point milestone against Kentucky. She’s one of four players in Ole Miss history to do so. Baker is No. 15 in the nation in active, career scoring (2,070 points) She’s No. 11 in games played (150). Baker has started 28 of 29 games this season. She’s averaging 2.7 assists.

Along with second-team All-SEC, Scott was also named All-Defensive. 

She’s in the midst of a breakout campaign. Scott leads Ole Miss in rebounding (8.3 per game). She set an SJB Pavilion record with her career-high 17 rebounds against Jacksonville earlier this year. She’s totaled 10 double-doubles for 20 all-time in her career. 

Scott is making a team-high 52.4 percent of her shots from the field. She’s second on the Rebels in points per game (10.4). Scott has scored double-digit points in 21 games. She’s started every game and leads the team in average minutes (30.0 per game).

Ole Miss will play the winner of Game 4 of the SEC Tournament on Friday (March 3) at approximately 1:25 p.m. CT on SEC Network. 

FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC

Brittany Davis, Alabama                                         
Alexis Morris, LSU                                                   
Angel Reese, LSU                                                                  
Angel Baker, Ole Miss                                            
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina                               
Zia Cooke, South Carolina                                      
Jordan Horston, Tennessee                                  
Rickea Jackson, Tennessee

Second Team All-SEC

Erynn Barnum, Arkansas                                                      
Aicha Coulibaly, Auburn                                         
Diamond Battles, Georgia                                      
Madison Scott, Ole Miss                                        
Jessika Carter, Mississippi State                            
Hayley Frank, Missouri                                           
Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
Ciaja Harbison, Vanderbilt

All-Freshman

Saylor Poffenbarger, Arkansas   
Flau’jae Johnson, LSU    
Sa’Myah Smith, LSU      
Debreasha Powe, Mississippi State         
Ashton Judd, Missouri   
Raven Johnson, South Carolina  
Janiah Barker, Texas A&M
Sydney Bowles, Texas A&M

All-Defensive

Diamond Battles, Georgia
Angel Reese, LSU           
Madison Scott, Ole Miss
Jessika Carter, Mississippi State
Brea Beal, South Carolina
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Player of the Year – Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

Freshman of the Year – Flau’jae Johnson, LSU

Defensive Player of the Year – Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

6th Woman of the Year – Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina

Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Hannah Barber, Alabama