IT News Wire
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks announced today the re-signing of 6-foot-4 center Lauren Cox after she accepted a qualifying offer. The Sparks first signed Cox on June 30 of the 2021 WNBA season. Last year Cox made 15 appearances for LA, averaging a career-high 14 minutes per game, and posting single-game career highs in points (14), rebounds (8) and minutes played (23).
“Lauren joined the Sparks midway through last season and embraced her role,” General Manager/Head Coach Derek Fisher said. “She contributed to our team’s defensive success and provided rebounding and frontcourt depth. We’re excited to add Lauren back to our roster and for her continued development as a WNBA player.”
Cox was selected No. 3 overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever. After playing 13.1 minutes per game as a rookie for the Fever and 8.6 minutes per game through 11 contests in 2021, she was waived. The Sparks signed her three days later and she made immediate strides throughout the remainder of the 2021 season, improving her player efficiency rating, defensive rating, rebounding percentage, and block percentage. She averaged 3.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 14 minutes per game for the Sparks.
At Baylor University, Cox was a three-time All-American and guided the program to the 2019 National Championship. She won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year twice and was the 2020 Big 12 Player of the Year.
Cox is from Grapevine, Texas and along with her sister Whitney, earned the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award from the United States Professional Basketball Writers Association in 2020 for her community involvement and on-court excellence while playing with type 1 diabetes. The award is given to athletes showing extraordinary courage and reflecting honor.
