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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

BIRMINGHAM – After another standout season for the Alabama Crimson Tide, Sarah Ashlee Barker has been named among the SEC’s best players once again.

Barker received a spot on the First Team All-SEC for women’s basketball on Tuesday, March 4.

It is the second-straight year that Barker has earned such honors from the SEC.

She was named alongside some of the biggest stars in college basketball, including Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore, LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson, Aneesah Morro and Mikaylah Williams, Texas’ Madison Booker, South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards, Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes and Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers.

Barker was the star of an Alabama team that finished the regular season 23-7 with a 10-6 SEC record and is currently ranked No. 19 in the AP Top 25.

She leads the Tide in scoring with 17.3 points per game, including 19.8 points per game since returning from an injury on Jan. 26. That return game against Vanderbilt saw her score a career-high 36 points.

Barker has also stuffed the stat sheet this season, ranking top 10 in the SEC in scoring (10th), assists (eighth), steals (eighth) and field goal percentage (seventh). She averages the most steals of any Alabama player with 2.0 per game and the second-most rebounds with 6.2 per game.

As she prepares to finish her final season with the Tide, she became just the fifth Alabama player to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists for her career. She accomplished the feat during senior night on Feb. 22 against Auburn.

As a result, she took a spot on the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team, as well as watch list spots for the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year and Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year awards.

Before she began playing in the SEC, Barker was one of the most impactful players in Spain Park history.

A two-time state champion and ASWA State Player of the Year in Class 7A, she scored over 2,000 points and had over 1,000 rebounds in her career for the Jags.

She capped off her time in Hoover with a dominant senior season where she led Spain Park to a 32-4 record and its second state championship in three seasons by defeating crosstown rival Hoover in a 47-44 battle.

Barker became the first Jags player to win Miss Basketball during that season and was also named the Gatorade Player of the Year and MaxPreps Player of the year for the state of Alabama. She also took home Class 7A Tournament MVP honors during that season.

She was named Shelby County Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020 and earned First Team All-County honors in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Alabama will begin SEC Tournament play on Thursday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. central against the winner of Wednesday’s game between Florida and Auburn at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. The game will air on the SEC Network.