Baker leads Rebels’ offensive attack to best Aggies

Greenville, SC – Ole Miss, number 4, ran away 77-60 from number 13 Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the SEC women’s basketball tournament Friday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.

The Rebels’ offense was led by Angel Baker’s 23 points on 10-of-12 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers, marking their eighth 20-point play of the season.

Madison Scott contributed 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Marquesha Davis had 14 points and Elauna Eaton hit three times from beyond the arc. On defense, the Rebels forced 22 turnovers to score 25 points against Aggie Miscues.

Janiah Barker stepped up the Aggies in both categories, recording her second career double-double (22 points, 10 rebounds) and second 20-point performance of her career. Aaliyah Patty recorded 10 points, three rebounds, two blocks and one assist.

Baker started the first quarter from long range to give Ole Miss an early lead, then deflated a jump shot at the 5:15 mark to give a 6-2 lead. Shortly after, Eaton hit two threes to create a 10-point difference, 14-4.

The Aggies went on a quick 5-0 run led by Barker to get to four before Baker threw in another 3-pointer with less than a minute left in the first, 17-10.

Both Sydney Bowles and Jada Malone recorded two free throws before the first quarter to reduce the lead to 17-14.

Texas A&M opened the second quarter with a hot pursuit as Malone hit layups in back-to-back possessions, but Baker didn’t let up as she hit her third shot from beyond the arc to make it 23-18.

With 7:33 at the half, Davis and Scott took over for the Rebels and led a 12-4 run to give them their biggest lead of the half, 35-24, staying just 1:36 in the quarter.

As the Aggies looked to make one last drive before halftime, Davis snatched the ball away, pulled in a layup and completed the three-point game to put a 40-29 advantage in the dressing room.

At halftime, Ole Miss shot 15 of 28 from the field (53.6%) compared to Texas A&M’s 8 of 22 (36.4%). Baker led the Rebels’ drive from long range, conceding three of their five triples while contributing 15 points overall in the first half.

The Aggies’ perfect free-throw shooting in the first half kept them in the game, with Bowles directing five of their 13 shots from the free-throw line.

Tyia Singleton started the second half with a smooth layup for Ole Miss, but Sarah Jones started to put the Aggies 42-33 behind. A 9-2 run put the Rebels to a 16-point lead, 51-35, before a flurry of free throws from Texas A&M along with a layup from Jones put them back within reach by 51-40.

With just over two minutes remaining in the third, Ole Miss scored another nine points, led by Scott’s five, to go into the final quarter with a solid 60-42 lead.

Baker and Singleton each fell with a jump shot early in the fourth to widen the gap, 64-42. Barker and Bowles started chipping, but Eaton promptly responded with a three to stay away, 71-49.

Despite Barker’s 11-point quarterback during their 22-point performance, the Aggies couldn’t break the deficit.

Ole Miss clinched the 77-60 Quarterfinals win and won an SEC tournament game by more than 10 points for the first time since 2007 while suffering the Aggies’ biggest SEC tournament loss.

Next

4-seeded Ole Miss (23-7, 11-5 SEC) meets 1-seeded South Carolina (30-0, 16-0 SEC) in the semifinals of Saturday’s SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament at 4:30 p.m. ET , which will be televised on the SEC network.

Texas A&M (9-20, 2-14 SEC) is eliminated from the tournament.