Season wrap up: Ole Miss Women’s Basketball

A historic season for the Ole Miss Women’s Basketball program has officially wrapped up and if you believe Coach Yo, this is just the beginning.

Even our beloved head coach was not sure how this season would go, as she welcomed 7 new faces to campus. Madison Scott, Angel Baker, Snudda Collins, Destiny Salary and Jordan Berry were the only ones remaining from Coach Yo’s first tournament run in Oxford.

Motivating her team and personifying their identity are strengths of the up and coming coach but you can never predict how a group of players will gel on and off the floor.

Results

The Rebels finished the year 25-9. Of the nine losses, six of them were to ranked teams: Utah, Oklahoma, National Champion LSU, #1 South Carolina (twice) and Louisville who ended their season in the Sweet 16.

They knocked off a ranked Arkansas squad on the road, were the only team to push South Carolina to OT at the time and then knocked off one-seeded Stanford in the Round of 32.

The momentum for this program is up there with those programs who have been around for quite some time. So much so that the “Way too early top 25” over at ESPN has Ole Miss ranked 15th despite the departure of Angel Baker.

Players in the Sweet Sixteen were polled about which coach would they want to play for other than theirs and Coach Yo tied for third with Geno Auriemma, only behind Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey. Are you kidding me?! Yo is going to mess around and do something special in Oxford.

Season Stat Leaders

The Rebels are obviously going to miss the play of lead guard Angel Baker on the offensive end as she was one of three Rebels to average double digit scoring:

1. Angel Baker 14.8 (44.1/37.5/82.8)
2. Madison Scott 11.6 (51/0/66.4)
3. Marquesha Davis 10.5 (45.7/27.3/70)

Losing Shakira Austin was always going to be felt on the glass, but Ole Miss did an excellent job rebounding as a team this year with several players chipping in behind Madison Scott:

1. Madison Scott 8.0
2. Angel Baker 5.4
3. Tyia Singleton 5.4

Defense was the name of the game in Oxford as the Rebs wanted to turn their opponent over and score in transition. Myah Taylor’s addition to the team was seamless as she led the way in steals:

1. Myah Taylor 53
2. Angel Baker 46
3. Madison Scott 36

Playing fast and in transition should allow for a lot of assists for everyone, but no one got the offense in their spots quite like Taylor:

1. Myah Taylor 113
2. Angel Baker 85
3. Madison Scott 72

As you can see, this team went as Baker and Scott went, as both were the top 3 in just about every category for this team all season long. While Scott is returning next season, both Angel Baker and Myah Taylor can be proud of the impact they had on a program that is on the rise.

Overall

Coach Yo and the success of this season are a national story now. While overlooked much of this season, the Rebels are going to transition from hunters to the hunted. The half court offense is an area for improvement for the staff going forward, but as they continue to take on the tenacious identity of their head coach, an annual top 4 finish in the conference going forward is a reality for this program.