(Clockwise from top left): Kaylee Edgemon, Jenna Cooper, Kaitlyn Edgemon, Alesha & Andy Ellis, Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant, Payton Brown.
source: wbuathletics.com
Sisters Kaylee and Kaitlyn Edgemon were named Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively, as five Flying Queens and head coach Alesha Ellis were recognized on the All-Sooner Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Team.
Kaylee Edgemon was joined on the all-conference first team by Jenna Cooper, while Payton Brown was vote to the third team and Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant honorable mention.
Edgemon, Wayland’s third SAC Player of the Year (Hazel Taylor 1999 & Angeleigh Davis 2014), is All-SAC for the third time, having also earned first-team honors last season after making the second-team in 2019 when she also was SAC Newcomer of the Year after transferring from Eastern New Mexico University. The two-time honorable mention NAIA All-American leads Wayland in scoring for the second year in a row, averaging 19.5 points to rank fourth in the league and 23rd in the NAIA. The 5-foot-11 forward from Littlefield, Wayland’s lone senior who plans to return next season (the NAIA is not counting eligibility this season due to COVID-19) leads the team and is third in the SAC in both blocks with 13 and field goal percentage (54.1). Her 8.5 rebounds a game is third on the team and she has a team-high five double-doubles.
Edgemon was one of two unanimous first-team picks, along with USAO junior forward Zaria Dorsey.
Sister Kaitlyn, also a 5-11 forward from Littlefield, was named Freshman of the Year after averaging 8.4 points and 5.8 rebounds. She is third on the team in assists with 26 and shoots 49 percent from the field. She’s made five starts in Wayland’s 11 games.
Cooper is all-conference for the second time after earning second-team honors last season when she was also Newcomer of the Year after transferring from Abilene Christian University. The 6-foot junior forward from Claude, an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention honoree last season, averages 16.5 points, which is second on the team, and 8.6 rebounds, which is tied for first. She also leads the Queens in 3-pointers with 25 and assists with 58, ranking 11th in the NAIA in assists per game (5.3). She is seventh in the NAIA in assist/turnover ratio (3.6).
Brown was all-conference honorable mention last season, making this the second All-SAC honor for the 5-7 junior point-guard from Lubbock Roosevelt High School. Brown averages 10.7 point and 4.4 rebounds in addition to leading the team with 20 steals. She is second on the squad in steals with 46 and 3-pointers with 21. She has made 85 percent (11-of-13) of her free throws.
McGhee-Pleasant, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Amarillo Tascosa High School, has more than doubled her scoring and rebounding outputs from a year ago. Her 11.0 points per game stand third on the team while she is tied for the lead in rebounds at 8.6. Her 12 blocks in just seven games are second on the team.
Ellis was voted John Hudson Coach of the Year, an award named after the SAC’s longtime commissioner, for the fourth time (and second straight) in her eight seasons at Wayland. Ellis shared the honor her first season then won it again two years later prior to the past two seasons.
This year, Ellis – joined for the first time by her husband Andy Ellis as assistant coach – has guided the Flying Queens to a No. 2 national ranking and an unbeaten record in the abbreviated COVID-19 campaign. Wayland’s 11 victories are the most to start a season since the Flying Queens did it in back-to-back years in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. The most wins to begin a season prior to that came in 1986-87 when the Queens won their first 31 before falling in the national quarterfinals.
Wayland shared the SAC regular-season championship with Mid-America Christian University, a team the Queens beat 84-72 in the first (non-conference) game of the season. WBU also shared the title last year with Oklahoma City, making this the third year the Flying Queens have earned a piece of the title after winning it outright in 2015-16.
WBU is the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, and the Queens will host No. 23 Oklahoma City (5-0) in the tourney semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday in Hutcherson Center.
2020-21 All-Sooner Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Team
Player of the Year: Kaylee Edgemon, Sr., F., Wayland Baptist
Newcomer of the Year: Zaria Dorsey, Jr., F, Science & Arts of Oklahoma
Freshman of the Year: Kaitlyn Edgemon, Fr., F, Wayland Baptist
Defensive Player of the Year: Thamires Andrade, Sr., G, SW Christian
John Hudson Coach of the Year: Alesha Ellis, Wayland Baptist
Sportsmanship Award: Asheika Alexander, Sr., F, Langston
FIRST TEAM
F Kaylee Edgemon* Wayland Baptist Sr. Littlefield, Texas
F Zaria Dorsey* USAO Jr. The Bronx, N.Y.
G Thamires Andrade SW Christian Sr. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
G Lexi Hernandez Mid-America Christian Sr. Canyon, Texas
F Jenna Cooper Wayland Baptist Jr. Claude, Texas
SECOND TEAM
F Asheika Alexander Langston Sr. Gwinnett, Ga.
C Abby Selzer Oklahoma City Jr. Thomas, Okla.
F Tarrah Stephens John Brown So. Wyandotte, Okla.
F Presley Payahsape Mid-America Christian Jr. Cashion, Okla.
F Cassia McCaskill Panhandle State Sr. Townsville, Australia
THIRD TEAM
F Makayla Coy Texas Wesleyan So. Pflugerville, Texas
G Milagros Carrera USAO So. Lima, Peru
G Erika Ankney Oklahoma City Jr. Harrah, Okla.
G Jamie Clarke SW Christian Sr. Washington, Okla.
G Payton Brown Wayland Baptist Jr. Lubbock, Texas
*Unanimous selections
HONORABLE MENTION
Taylor Fergen, John Brown
Alexis Casher, SW Assemblies of God
Kaytlen Johnson, USAO
Jailynn Lawson, Langston
Kassidy Forgsberg, Central Christian
Maddie Altman, John Brown
Tateum Jones, Panhandle State
Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant, Wayland Baptist
Sydney Meador, SW Assemblies of God
Marta Matamala, John Brown
Payton Taylor, Oklahoma City