Smith, Lewis, Andrews, Asberry, and Egbo Receive Big 12 Honors

The awards keep rolling in for Baylor athletics, this time for the Baylor Women’s Basketball team.

Yesterday, the conference announced their 2022 Women’s Basketball awards, and the entire starting lineup for Baylor received recognition.

NaLyssa Smith was unanimously voted the Big 12 Player of the Year, her second-consecutive POY award. Smith joins Brittney Griner as the only other Baylor player to win POY in multiple years. Baylor increases their conference-leading POY recipients to 10.

Smith is second in the conference with 668 points, second in the conference with a 56.1% field goal percentage, seventh in the conference with a 78.8% free throw percentage, first in the conference with 350 rebounds, and fifth in the conference with 35 blocks.

Jordan Lewis, a transfer from Alabama, was voted Newcomer of the Year. This is the third year in a row that a Baylor player received the Newcomer of the Year award. Lewis is 13th in the conference with 355 points, third in the conference with 160 assists, and second in the conference with a 2.3 assist/turnover ratio. Lewis is also 10th in the conference with 47 three-pointers made.

Kansas head coach Brandon Scheinder was voted Coach of the Year. Lexi Donarski (Iowa State) was voted the Defensive Player of the Year. Rori Harmon (Texas) and Skylar Vann (Oklahoma) received Freshman of the Year and Sixth Player Award, respectively.

Both Smith and Lewis were also named to the 2022 All-Big 12 First Team. This is Smith’s third time selected for the All-Big 12 First Team.

Other First Team players include Iowa State’s Donarski, Ashley Joens, and Emily Ryan, Kansas’ Holly Kersgieter, Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee, Oklahoma’s Taylor Roberston and Madi Williams, and Texas Tech’s Vivian Gray.

Running out of hands to hold all her awards, Smith was also voted to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. She joins Donarski, Taiyanna Jackson (Kansas), Lee, and Harmon.

Sarah Andrews earned a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team. Andrews is 14th in the conference with 349 points, seventh in the conference with 56 three-pointers made, fifth in the conference with 137 assists, first in the conference with a 2.4 assist/turnover ratio, and tied 19th in the conference with 37 steals.

Other Second Team members include Lauren Fields (Oklahoma State), Joanne Allen-Taylor (Texas), Harmon, and Esmery Martinez (West Virginia).

Finally, Ja’Mee Asberry and Queen Egbo were recognized as All-Big 12 Honorable Mentions. Asberry is 22nd in the conference with 285 points scored, fourth in the conference with 69 three-pointers made, 19th in the conference with 62 assists, and tied 14th in the conference with 41 steals.

Egbo is 16th in the conference with 331 points scored, fourth in the conference with 254 rebounds, and third in the conference with 54 blocks.

Per the conference press release, “The All-Big 12 honors were chosen by head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.”