South Carolina leading scorer Zia Cooke declares for 2023 WNBA Draft, joining three Gamecocks

COLUMBIA — Four members of South Carolina women's basketball's iconic 2019 recruiting class are headed to the WNBA. Senior guard Zia Cooke announced that she will forgo her final year of eligibility and declare for the 2023 WNBA Draft.

Cooke joins Gamecocks' star Aliyah Boston, senior guard Brea Beal and senior forward Laeticia Amihere in deciding not to use the season of eligibility granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Cooke ended her South Carolina career on a spectacular performance in the team's Final Four loss to 2-seed Iowa last Friday at American Airlines Center. She put up a team-high 24 points shooting 11-of-21 from the field plus eight rebounds.

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The 5-foot-9 senior had a career season in 2022-23, averaging 15.4 points with a career-high 41% field goal percentage. She also shot 35% from 3-point range and a career-high 79% at the free-throw line.

Cooke won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the nation's best shooting guard and earned third-team All-American honors from both the Associated Press and USBWA this season. She leaves holding program records for most games started by a freshman (33) and most 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game with five against Stanford in the 2021 Final Four.

Cooke helped lead South Carolina to three consecutive Final Four appearances, including the 2022 NCAA championship. The Gamecocks guard is widely projected as a low first or early second round pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, which will be held April 10 in New York.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina leading scorer Zia Cooke declares for 2023 WNBA Draft