Cooke Named a Finalist for Ann Meyers Drysdale Award

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina sophomore guard Zia Cooke is one of five finalists 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 was named to the All-SEC First Team earlier today and is the Gamecocks’ top scorer at 15.9 points per game, which rank her 13th in the SEC. She led the team in scoring 12 times through 23 games this season, including eight of16 SEC outings. Three of her four 20-point games this season were against ranked opponents, including 21 against No. 17/17 Kentucky. In addition to leading the Gamecocks in points, Cooke is second in assists, handing out 2.2 per game, and her 35.6 percent 3-point accuracy is also second on the squad.
 
This month, the finalists will be presented to Ms. Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame’s selection committee. Naismith Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Fri., March. 5, on HoopHallAwards.com.
 
The winner of the 2021 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be presented on ESPN, 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. Additional information about the award presentation, including date and time, will be released in the coming weeks.
 
The No. 7 Gamecocks (19-4, 14-2 SEC) earned the second seed in this week’s SEC Tournament in Greenville, S.C. South Carolina will take on the winner of the game between No. 10-seed Missouri and seventh-seeded Alabama on Fri., March 6, at 6 p.m. on SEC Network.
 
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 Finalists
Zia Cooke, South Carolina