Richards sweeps National Defensive POY Honors
The Cypress, Texas, native brings home her seventh defensive honor of the postseason. She was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year by the league’s head coaches and the Waco Tribune Herald. She was a unanimous selection to the coaches’ All Big 12 Defensive Team, and she was named Texas Player of the Year and to the All Texas Defensive Team by Dave Campbell’s Texas Basketball.
## ## Richards spearheaded a defensive effort for the 28 2 Lady Bears, that led the nation in field goal percentage defense for the fourth straight year at .310. According to Synergy, the widely used coaches video exchange, Richards held her defensive assignments to a .262 field goal percentage this season.
This is the fifth time a Baylor player has taken home a national defensive player of the year award, with Brittney Griner winning the WBCA’s honor three straight seasons from 2011 2013 and Richards winning the WBCA and Naismith honor in 2020.
Richards averaged 8.2 points per game in her junior campaign and led the Big 12 in assists per game (5.7) and assists to turnover ratio (2.92), the fourth best mark in the nation.
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