COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball sophomore guard Aijha Blackwell (Berkeley, Mo.) and freshman guard Mama Dembele (Manlleu, Spain) each earned All-SEC honors, announced by the league office on Tuesday. Blackwell earned All-SEC second team honors, while Dembele was named to the All-Freshman team.
Blackwell is the 10th All-SEC honoree for the Tigers since joining the league prior to the 2012-13 season, and the first since Sophie Cunningham earned first team honors in 2019. Dembele is the seventh Tiger to be named to the league’s All-Freshman Team, with all six honors coming since 2016, as she joins Sophie Cunningham (2016), Cierra Porter (2016), Amber Smith (2017), Akira Levy (2019), Blackwell (2020) and Hayley Frank (2020).
Blackwell is looking to become the fifth Tiger in program history, and the first since 1997-98, to average a double-double as she is currently averaging 14.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Her 12 double-doubles this season are the most by a Tiger since Cierra Porter hit the same mark in 2016-17, rank third among SEC players and 13th nationally. Blackwell’s six consecutive games with a double-double between Jan. 18 and Feb. 7 was the best streak as a Tiger since Christelle N’Garsanet hit the same mark in 2005-06.
The Tiger sophomore has scored in double figures in 17 of 18 games played this season with three 20-point games. She became the fastest Tiger in the head coach Robin Pingeton era to reach 500 points, as she did so in 34 games. Blackwell has increased her efficiency in a significant way in her sophomore campaign, improving her field goal percentage from 38.8 percent (155-of-399) in 2019-20 to 45.8 percent (93-of-203) this season.
Blackwell currently ranks third in the SEC and 17th nationally at 11.3 rebounds per game. In conference games, only, she leads the league in rebounding at 12.5 rebounds per game. She is the first Tiger since at least 2002-03 to record 15 or more rebounds in consecutive games, let alone three straight when she did so against Texas A&M (16, Jan. 24), at Florida (16, Jan. 28) and at Kentucky (19, Jan. 31). Her 19-board performance at Kentucky was the most since Jessra Johnson had 19 on Nov. 15, 2007, while her 11.3 rebounds per game would be the best mark-ever by a Mizzou sophomore and would rank second overall on the single-season list.
Dembele has taken on the role of floor general in her debut campaign, as she remains the only freshman in the SEC to start every game of her team’s season. She is currently averaging 3.5 points, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game while boasting an impressive 1.2 assist to turnover ratio. Her 1.5 steals per game rank as the top mark among SEC freshmen and 16th overall. Her season-best mark of six steals at Mississippi State (Feb. 28) was the most by a Tiger since Jordan Chavis had six against Kansas City on Dec. 8, 2019. She has dished out multiple assists in 12 games this season, including a season-best mark of seven in a win over Florida (Feb. 21).
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