Cooke Among Top 10 for Ann Meyers Drysdale Award

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina sophomore guard Zia Cooke is among the Top 10 candidates for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced today. Named after the first player, male or female, named to an All-America Team in four straight college seasons, the annual award in its fourth season recognizes the top shooting guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
 
Cooke is an explosive, dynamic scorer who leads the Gamecocks with 16.1 points per game (11th in the SEC) overall and is tied with Boston for team-high honors in SEC games (15.1 ppg). She has three 20-point games among her 12 double-figure scoring outings, and that number includes just two games under 15 points. She was the team’s top scorer in four of their seven games against ranked opponents this season. Cooke is shooting a team-best 42.3 percent from 3-point range and is second on the team in assists at 2.2 per game, including four games of four or more assists. Her 78.1 percent free throw shooting ranks eighth in the SEC.
 
In early March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Fri., Feb. 5, at 1 p.m. ET on HoopHallAwards.com.
 
The winner of the 2021 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be presented on Fri., Apr. 9, 2021, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award, and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.
 
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on the women’s basketball season.
 
 
2021 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Candidates