Baylor Women's Basketball Secures Conference Preseason Honors
IRVING, Texas — The Baylor women’s basketball team received a pair of Preseason All-Big 12 Women’s Basketball Awards and landed two on the 2022-23 Preseason Team, the conference announced on Wednesday.
Conference coaches recognized senior transfer Aijha Blackwell as the Newcomer of the Year and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs as the Freshman of the Year.
Blackwell and Sarah Andrews landed spots on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, while Ja’Mee Asberry and Dre’Una Edwards were honorable mention selections.
Blackwell’s selection as Preseason Newcomer of the Year marked the fourth-straight season that a Baylor Bear earned the honor, behind Te’a Cooper (2019-20), DiJonai Carrington (2020-21) and Jordan Lewis (2021-22). The transfer from Missouri earned All-SEC honors in each of her three seasons in the league and led the Tigers last season with 14.9 points and 13.1 rebounds per game, which was the highest single-season rebounding average in program history. She shot .487 from the floor and .306 from 3-point range in her junior campaign.
Littlepage-Buggs joins the likes of NaLyssa Smith, Lauren Cox, Brittney Griner and Odyssey Sims as the eighth all-time winner of the Preseason Freshman of the Year honor. The Edmond, Okla., native made her way to Waco as the Gatorade Athlete of the Year in Oklahoma and the No. 17 overall recruit in the 2022 class, according to ESPN Hoopgurlz. Littlepage-Buggs averaged 15.5 points, 12.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game at Classen High School last season.
Andrews earns a spot on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team after a breakout sophomore campaign where she averaged 11.1 points and 31.9 minutes per game and led the team with a .390 3-point percentage. The guard was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team in 2022.
It is the second-straight year for Asberry on the Preseason Honorable Mention list. The now-grad student transferred to Baylor from Oklahoma State as a senior last season. She started every game for the Bears and led BU in minutes played with 32.9 per game. Asberry is a member of the 1,000-point club, surpassing that mark in a matchup against Oklahoma last season.
A transfer from Kentucky, Edwards earns Preseason Honorable Mention honors in her first year in the league. The 6-foot-2 forward was unstoppable for the Wildcats during their 10-game winning streak toward the end of the season. During that stretch, Edwards averaged 20.5 points per game, including a career-high 30 at Missouri and 27 against South Carolina. She finished the season second on the team in scoring with 16.8 points per game off 44.1 percent shooting from the field.
The Bears start their 2022-23 season on Nov. 3 with an exhibition against Southwest Baptist, followed by the non-conference opener against Lamar Nov. 7.
2022 Big 12 Women's Basketball Preseason Awards
Preseason Player of the Year
- Ashley Joens, G/F, Iowa State
Preseason Newcomer of the Year
- Aijha Blackwell, G, Baylor
Preseason Freshman of the Year
- Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, G/F, Baylor
Preseason All-Big 12 Team
- Aijha Blackwell, G, Baylor
- Sarah Andrews, G, Baylor
- Ashley Joens*, G/F, Iowa State
- Emily Ryan, G, Iowa State
- Lexi Donarski, G, Iowa State
- Holly Kersgieter, G, Kansas
- Serena Sundell, G, Kansas State
- Madi Williams*, F, Oklahoma
- Taylor Robertson*, G, Oklahoma
- Rori Harmon*, G, Texas
- Aaliyah Moore, F, Texas
*- Denotes unanimous pick
A tie for the 10th spot resulted in 11 selections
Honorable Mention
Ja’Mee Asberry (Baylor), Dre’Una Edwards (Baylor), Zakiyah Franklin (Kansas), Taiyanna Jackson (Kansas), Ana Llanusa (Oklahoma), Shaylee Gonzalez (Texas), Taylor Jones (Texas), Sonya Morris (Texas), JJ Quinerly (West Virginia), Madisen Smith (West Virginia)