Gamecock Signees Collect USA Today Awards
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina’s No. 1-ranked women’s basketball signing class continued to collect recognition this week as USA Today High School Sports announced its annual awards. Zia Cooke earned a spot on the USA Today All-USA Third Team in addition to her All-USA Ohio First Team selection. Brea Beal and Aliyah Boston earned their Player of the Year honors for Illinois and Massachusetts, respectively. Olivia Thompson claimed a spot on the All-USA South Carolina First Team.
Cooke was a Naismith High School Player of the Year finalist, going on to earn First-Team All-America honors from that organization as well as the WBCA. She was rated the No. 7 overall recruit in the 2019 class and the No. 2 point guard. Cooke was the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association Div. II Ohio Player of the Year and picked up her second-straight Toledo Blade Player of the Year honors after leading her high school to a 29.3 record by averaging 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
Beal was a Naismith and WBCA Third-Team All-America selection this year and picked up her third-straight Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year award. Also a three-time Illinois Ms. Basketball, she is the all-time leading scorer in Western Big Six history and helped her high school to is first sectional championship since 1991. Her 24.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game paced the team to a 30-2 record in 2018-19. She was rated the No. 13 overall recruit and the No. 3 wing in the 2019 class.
Also her state’s Gatorade Player of the Year three times, Boston made the Naismith and WBCA All-America Second Teams after leading her team to its second-straight New England Prep School Athletic Council Class A championship. The No. 3 overall recruit and top post player in the 2019 class averaged 17.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game as a senior to pick up NEPSAC Class A Player of the Year honors for the second time in as many seasons.
Thompson is her high school’s all-time leading scorer and among the most prolific 3-point shooters in the history of girls’ basketball in the state of South Carolina. A three-time South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Class 5A All-State selection, she picked up that organization’s Player of the Year award last season and added co-Statewide Player of the Year honors from the South Carolina High School Sports Report. Her 19.2 points and 2.2 assists per game helped her team to its second Region 5-5A title in the last four seasons.
Cooke was a Naismith High School Player of the Year finalist, going on to earn First-Team All-America honors from that organization as well as the WBCA. She was rated the No. 7 overall recruit in the 2019 class and the No. 2 point guard. Cooke was the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association Div. II Ohio Player of the Year and picked up her second-straight Toledo Blade Player of the Year honors after leading her high school to a 29.3 record by averaging 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
Beal was a Naismith and WBCA Third-Team All-America selection this year and picked up her third-straight Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year award. Also a three-time Illinois Ms. Basketball, she is the all-time leading scorer in Western Big Six history and helped her high school to is first sectional championship since 1991. Her 24.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game paced the team to a 30-2 record in 2018-19. She was rated the No. 13 overall recruit and the No. 3 wing in the 2019 class.
Also her state’s Gatorade Player of the Year three times, Boston made the Naismith and WBCA All-America Second Teams after leading her team to its second-straight New England Prep School Athletic Council Class A championship. The No. 3 overall recruit and top post player in the 2019 class averaged 17.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game as a senior to pick up NEPSAC Class A Player of the Year honors for the second time in as many seasons.
Thompson is her high school’s all-time leading scorer and among the most prolific 3-point shooters in the history of girls’ basketball in the state of South Carolina. A three-time South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Class 5A All-State selection, she picked up that organization’s Player of the Year award last season and added co-Statewide Player of the Year honors from the South Carolina High School Sports Report. Her 19.2 points and 2.2 assists per game helped her team to its second Region 5-5A title in the last four seasons.
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