Kelby ZendejasThe Ole Miss women’s basketball team earned two SEC honors this week with junior forward Shakira Austin receiving Co-SEC Player of the Week and freshman Madison Scott being named SEC Freshman of the Week.
The two honors this week break the program record for the total number of honors in a single season, which hit six during the 2006-2007 Elite Eight team season. This marks Scott’s fourth Freshman Player of the Week honor, as the forward helps bring this team’s total number of freshman honors to six. Snudda Collins received the other two.
Scott also became the first player in Ole Miss history to earn the award four times in a single season. Austin is the first UM player to receive the Player of the Week honor since former player Crystal Allen did so in December of 2018.
Earlier this week, Austin was named to the Lisa Leslie Award Top 10 list with South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston as the only two SEC representatives on the list. Austin currently sits at 924 career points, 663 career rebounds and 153 career blocks. As for the current season, the forward averages 17.1 points per game, 8.1 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks, while also shooting 53.7% overall.
During the 70-62 Kentucky upset, Austin completed her fifth double-double as a Rebel and the 20th of her career with 21 points and 12 rebounds. It was also her second consecutive double-double performance of the season, which makes her the first Rebel to do so since former player Shandricka Sessom in December 2015. Austin tallied 17 points in the first half against the Wildcats and helped the Rebels maintain their largest halftime lead since 2015.
Austin’s grand performance against the Kentucky Wildcats marks her sixth 20-point game this season and her 13th double-digit scoring game of 14 this season.
Meanwhile, Scott tallied points of her own during the game against the Wildcats as well. The freshman earned nine points, eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal. In rebounds, Scott leads the SEC and ranks No. 16 nationally among freshmen with an average of 7.2 per game.
The game marked her sixth with at least eight rebounds this season, and Scott also set a career-high of two blocks against the Wildcats that night.
The next team the Rebels will play is the Alabama Crimson Tide at 6 p.m. on Feb. 11. The game will be broadcast live on SEC Network+.
