Carlye Thornton | Lariat Photo Editor
By Shehan Jeyarajah
Sports Editor
Two Baylor women’s basketball players received Preseason All-Big 12 honors, the Big 12 announced Wednesday morning.
Sophomore forward Nina Davis was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, while junior point guard Niya Johnson was given honorable mention.
Davis was named 2014 Big 12 Freshman of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team after averaging 15.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per game on 59.5 percent from the field; her rebounding and field goal percentage led the Big 12.
Davis was named Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player for here performance in leading Baylor to the Big 12 Tournament championship.
Davis’ breakout game came in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Western Kentucky. The freshman scored 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Baylor to an 87-74 win to move on in the tournament.
Playing in the same backcourt as All-American Odyssey Sims, Johnson led the Big 12 with 6.6 assists per game and the nation with a 4.0 assists-to-turnover ratio as a sophomore. With Sims gone and a bevy of young players on the perimeter, Johnson is poised to emerge as a leader on both ends of the floor for Baylor.
West Virginia’s Bria Holmes captured Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year. Others named Preseason All-Big 12 include Kansas’ Chelsea Gardner, TCU’s Zahna Medley and Texas’ Nneka Enemkpali.
Baylor women’s basketball will open its season at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 against Midwestern State University in Waco. The Lady Bears will look to build off their surprise Elite Eight run in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
The Lady Bears’ non-conference schedule is headlined by a road game against Kentucky on Nov. 17, before opening conference play on Jan. 13, 2015 against Oklahoma State in Waco. Fifteen games will be televised, including every home Big 12 contest.
