WACO, Texas — Baylor’s Lauren Cox became just the sixth player in Lady Bears history to earn First Team All-America honors from the Associated Press. The Lady Bears’ NaLyssa Smith and Te’a Cooper were named honorable mention All-Americans by the AP.
Cox’s first-team nod was the 11th for Baylor in its history with Suzie Snider-Eppers (1977), Sophia Young (2005, 06), Brittney Griner (2011, 12, 13), Odyssey Sims (2012, 13, 14) and Nina Davis (2015) also collecting honors for the Lady Bears in their careers.
The senior forward was a third-team selection last season as a junior. She averaged 12.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.7 blocks in 22 games in the shortened 2019-20 season.
All in all, it marks the sixth postseason national recognition for Cox; she was named honorable mention All-America by the WBCA in 2018 and 2019 and a third-team All-American by the USBWA in 2019.
Cox finished her career with 1,570 points, 982 rebounds, 363 assists and 301 blocks in 131 games played. The All-America honor adds to her list of postseason awards.
She was named Big 12 Player of the Year, All-Big 12 First Team and was selected to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team by both the Big 12 head coaches and the Waco Tribune-Herald. Cox was also named the Texas MVP by Dave Campbell’s Texas Basketball.
A sophomore, Smith, led Baylor in scoring average at 14.3, grabbed 8.0 rebounds per game and shot .586 from the floor. In just two seasons with the Lady Bears, her career field goal percentage of .565 ranks fifth all-time in the Baylor record book.
Smith was a first-team All-Big 12 selection by the league’s head coaches and the Waco Tribune-Herald. She earned a spot on the All-Texas First Team and was named Sophomore of the Year in Dave Campbell’s Texas Basketball first annual All-Texas awards. The All-America honor was the first of Smith’s career.
Cooper, a graduate transfer from South Carolina, earned her first national postseason award with the AP’s honorable mention All-America nod. She led Baylor in total points with 408 averaging 13.6 per contest while adding 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
She shot a career-best .415 from beyond the 3-point arc and led the Lady Bears with 56 treys made. Cooper was also named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year by the league’s head coaches and the Waco Tribune-Herald along with first-team All-Big 12 honors from both entities.
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