NaLyssa Smith advanced to the Midseason Top 25 Watch List for the John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy's. Smith was on the preseason watch list, and she leads Baylor in scoring and rebounds at 17.3 and 9.6 per contest, respectively.
Smith has three double-doubles on the season, and she ranks in the top 10 in the Big 12 in field goal percentage (7th, .469), free throws made (4th, 50), free throws attempted (4th, 62), and free-throw percentage (8th, .806). She is the Big 12's eighth-leading scorer and fourth-leading rebounder.
The junior from Converse, Texas has had double-figure scoring games in all but one contest. She tied a career-high with 15 rebounds in the season opener vs. Central Arkansas, Nov. 25 and tied her career high in scoring with 30 points vs. Northwestern State, Dec. 18. Defensively, she's averaging 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per contest.
This season marks the second-straight year that she reached the Midseason Watch List team for the John R. Wooden Award. The Los Angeles Athletic Club puts on the honor, and it is given to college basketball's most outstanding player. Players that did not make the Midseason Watch List team can still make their way on to the late-season list based on performance.
Brittney Griner won the Wooden Award in back-to-back seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Five different Lady Bears have landed on the Wooden All-American teams, including Griner, Odyssey Sims, Nina Davis, Niya Johnson and Lauren Cox.
-
Baylor WBB website, 7 Jan 2021