Baylor got a steal when they were able to bring in transfer guard Te’a Cooper from South Carolina. She plays hard on both ends of the floor and can be a great leader for her teammates as well. With Cooper transferring over to a phenomenal organization just like her close friend Chloe Jackson, the Baylor Lady Bears have been looking to defend their crown and have started a new journey with a hunt for a championship with Cooper running the show.

Te’a Cooper is a phenomenal point guard who can run the floor better than anyone else. She probably has the best IQ in the game today as she understands how to make the right play at the right time. With her hard work and dedication that she puts into her craft, there is a reason why she is recognized as one of the top Point Guards in the nation. Cooper brings everything to the table that this Baylor team wants out of her and it shows why the Bears were 11-1 to begin the season.

Cooper is averaging 14.7 points per game along with 5.1 assist through the course of the regular season. She has played her role nicely along with her new teammates as they are doing damage on the court. She has been getting good looks at the basket and has been shooting a career best 47% from the field.

It looks as if the game is coming easier for Cooper at Baylor than it was playing for South Carolina. Maybe it could be that her teammates taking some attention off of her for being so dominant on the floor. Or it could be teams just being delusional and not having her high on the scouting report. Whether those are the reasons or not, Cooper has taken advantage of the opportunity by playing the game her style and contributing to winning. Her assertiveness on the floor sets the tone for the other girls and it gives them a boost to play hard on both ends of the floor to win ball games.

Cooper has shown this season that she can put the team on her back and take them to a victory. For instance, in Baylor’s game against UConn, Cooper was able to find a rhythm on the offensive end getting into the teeth of the defense going hard to the basket to score 27 points for the game leading her team to a 74-58 victory over the dominant UConn Huskies. Whenever it is time to turn it up a notch, Cooper looks to rise to the occasion and her competitive nature fuels her to play hard every night.

Another outstanding game from Cooper is when she scored 32 points against Oklahoma. She was able to be threat on both ends of the floor this game as she torched the defense on one end and caused problems on the defense adding 5 steals to her stat line. While her other teammates did not seem to have the best night, that is where one can count on Cooper to always lift her team up and step up big to help seal a victory.

Now although Cooper can be a great contributor to her team, what Baylor will need from her to repeat as champions is for her to stay focused and remain poised through the rest of the season and going into the NCAA Tournament. It’s without a doubt that she will be on everyone’s scouting report and team’s will be focused on taking her out of her game.

But the best thing is with these Lady Bears, with them being a championship experienced team, luckily they will have Cooper’s back on and off the floor and allow the game to be easy for her by everyone stepping up.

Te’a Cooper has been through an uphill journey to get to where she’s at today. After not being in great positions to show her potential in the past, it’s exciting to see her step up big for her new school and help them remain a championship contender all year. Baylor is currently ranked No.2 due to their competitive play all season and we’ll see them transition that going into the postseason next month. Now that the season is winding down, we’ll see how Cooper shifts into another level as she will be the driving force for this Baylor team for the Tournament.