BU's Smith Wins Honda Sport Award for Basketball - Big12Sports.com

The Collegiate Women Sports Awards honored Baylor junior power forward NaLyssa Smith with the Honda Sport Award for basketball Thursday.

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 45 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and signifies “the best in collegiate athletics. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2021 Honda Cup, which will be presented on a telecast on CBS Sports Network on June 28th at 8 p.m. CT.

Smith was chosen by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Finalists included Dana Evans (Louisville), Naz Hillmon (Michigan) and Rhyne Howard (Kentucky). Smith joins Brittney Griner (2012) as the only other Lady Bear to win the Honda Sport Award.

Smith led the 28-3 Baylor Lady Bears to Big 12 Championships in the regular season and tournament while helping Baylor to its 10th NCAA Elite 8 appearance.

A Converse, Texas native, Smith continues to add to her trophy case after already being selected as the WBCA’s Wade Trophy Award winner for nation’s top player, she was named a First-Team All-American by the Associated Press, the John R. Wooden Award and ESPN.com, and she earned second-team honors from the USBWA. She was the Naismith/WBCA Katrina McClain Award winner for the nation’s top power forward.

She was named the Big 12 Player of the Year, the Most Outstanding Player of the Big 12 Championship and was an NCAA Riverwalk Region All-Tournament selection after Baylor’s exit in the Elite 8.

Smith averaged 18.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while shooting 56.1 percent from the field and 79.2 percent from the charity stripe. She added 38 steals on defense to go with 26 blocks for the Lady Bears.

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