NEW YORK — The 2020 WNBA Draft was the first sporting event to take place in North American professional sports since the coronavirus pandemic suspended or canceled sports last month.
Three Baylor women's basketball stars were expected to get drafted Friday night when the nation's professional women's league selected its newest players.
All-American senior forward Lauren Cox from Flower Mound was taken at No. 3 to Indiana.
Cox averaged 12.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in her Baylor career, including 12.5 points and 8.4 rebounds as a senior in 2019-20. Since her sophomore year, Cox started all 94 games she played. She also played in 37 games, starting one, as a freshman in 2016-17.
This year, Cox was named a unanimous All-American by the Associated Press, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, Women's Basketball Coaches Association and John Wooden Award, just the fourth Lady Bear to earn four All-American honors in the same season.
Graduate transfer senior guard Te'a Cooper was taken at No.18 to the Phoenix Mercury.
Cooper transferred to Baylor for her final season of eligibility after graduating from South Carolina. In green and gold, Cooper averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 assists per game while playing an average of 30.1 minutes.
Cooper was named All-Big 12 first team and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year this season while earning Honorable Mention All-America honors from the AP, WBCA and U.S. Basketball Writers Association. She was also in the final five for the WBCA Nancy Lieberman Award for the nation's top point guard.
La Vega High School graduate and Waco native Juicy Landrum was No. 35 to the Connecticut Sun.
Landrum, the Baylor record holder for made 3-pointers in a game (14 vs. Arkansas State on Dec. 18th), could go anywhere starting in the late second round, according to Dallas Wings president & CEO Greg Bibb. The Athletic had Landrum going 35th, the penultimate pick of the draft, to the Connecticut Sun.
Landrum was named honorable mention All-Big 12 as a senior while shooting 42.3% from 3 this season. She averaged 7.9 points per game with 2.9 assists, starting every game as a junior and senior. She also played 35 games with 14 starts as a sophomore and 30 games as a freshman, after guiding her Lady Pirates team to a UIL 4A state championship in high school.
The status of when WNBA teams will begin training camp and when the league's 2020 season may begin is still unknown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league's season normally runs through the summer.