Senior forward Nina Davis and senior guard Alexis Jones are two of 25 players recognized on the ‘Wade Watch’ list of candidates for the 2017 Wade Trophy, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced Thursday.
Davis has been a finalist for the Wade Trophy twice in her career (2015, 2016), while Jones appears on the watch list for the first time in her career. The Lady Bears are the only Big 12 representatives on the list of 25, and Baylor is one of six teams in the country to have two players included.
The Wade Trophy – now in its 40th year – is the oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award in college women’s basketball. It is named in honor of the late, legendary Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, who won three straight national championships with the Lady Statesmen.
A two-time consensus All-American, Davis is averaging 10.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.9 steals per contest through eight games played. The preseason Big 12 Player of the Year selection has led the Lady Bears in points, rebounds, assists and steals once this year and has scored in double figures five times. The Memphis, Tenn., native has also been named a preseason Associated Press All-American for the second consecutive season, to the Naismith Trophy Watch List, and to the preseason All-Big 12 first team.
She is a three-time All-Big 12 first team selection in her career and surpassed the 2,000 career points mark in the fourth game of her senior season. Davis is fifth in scoring all-time with 2,037 and eighth in rebounding all-time with 897 in her career.
Jones leads the Lady Bears in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game and has made 60 percent of her three-point field goal attempts. The honorable mention All-American also averages 4.9 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals through eight games played. The Irving, Texas, native, has led Baylor in steals four times, points on three occasions, assists twice and rebounds once. She has recorded three 20-point performances and one double-double, the seventh of her career.
Jones, last year’s Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, has been named to the Nancy Leiberman Award Watch List, to the Naismith Trophy Watch List and to the preseason All-Big 12 first team. She also earned the second Big 12 Player of the Week honor of her career on Nov. 29, after helping the Lady Bears to a 4-0 week, which included two wins over ranked opponents and a Gulf Coast Showcase Championship.
The ‘Wade Watch’ list of candidates for the Wade Trophy is selected by the WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches All-America Selection Committee. The committee will review the current list of 25 in January to determine if additional players will be added based on their play during the first half of the 2016-17 season.
No. 4/4 Baylor hosts Abilene Christian tonight at 7 p.m. (CT) inside the Ferrell Center. Fans that bring a new stuffed animal bear to donate for the team’s 11th annual ‘Care Bear’ Drive will receive $5 admission and a coupon for a free Whataburger (while supplies last). The Lady Bears will deliver donated bears to children and patients at Waco’s Baylor Scott & White Hospital in December.
