Te'a Cooper

Personal: Cooper is the daughter of Kindall and Omar Cooper. She is one of four children in her family. 

Other Professional Experience: Cooper played two seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks. She appeared in 51 games with 16 starts and averaged 8.2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. She registered six double-digit scoring efforts during the 2020 season, including a 15-point performance against New York on September 8, 2020. She scored 9.1 points per contest while starting 13-of-31 contests in 2021. She notched 13 double-digit scoring efforts, including three games with 20 or more points. She scored a career-high 26 points against Washington on June 24, 2021 after making 10-of-15 shots from the floor and 5-of-6 free throws. She tallied 24 points in the season finale against Dallas on September 19, 2021. She also contributed 20 points against Phoenix on June 27, 2021. She was selected by the Phoenix Mercury with the No. 18 overall pick in the second round of 2020 WNBA Draft.

College Experience: Cooper finished her college career at Baylor after playing at Tennessee and South Carolina. She appeared in 96 total games from 2015-20. She averaged 11.2 points per game in her college career while shooting 41.2 percent from the field. She accumulated 1,076 total points. She opened her career by playing 36 games with 15 starts as a freshman at Tennessee. She was a member of the All-Southeastern Conference Freshman Team who ranked fourth on the team with 8.6 scoring average. She scored in double figures 15 times for the Lady Vols, including a season-high 23 points against East Tennessee State. She missed 2016-17 season due to injury. Cooper transferred to South Carolina and sat out 2017-18 campaign before leading Gamecocks to appearance in NCAA Sweet 16. She was South Carolina’s leading scorer with a 11.9 point per game average and 17 double-digit scoring performances. She netted 31 points against Drake on November 24, 2018. She joined Baylor as a graduate transfer for 2019-20 season. She was named as a co-recipient of Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year Award after scoring 13.6 and 4.6 assists points per game. She was an Honorable Mention All-America selection by Associated Press, USBWA, and WBCA. She was a First-Team All-Big 12 selection by the league’s coaches who shot 41.5 percent from three-point range. She was one of five finalists for Naismith/WBCA Nancy Lieberman Award for nation’s top point guard.