CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) – Illinois women’s basketball fifth-year guard Makira Cook has earned a spot on the 2024-25 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year Watch List. Cook is one of 50 women’s basketball players nationally and one of 14 Big Ten student-athletes to be included on the list.
Cook led the Fighting Illini in scoring with 16.4 points per game last year while finishing in double figures in 27 of her 31 games during the 2023-24 season. She also posted a team-best 4.4 assists per game in her second season with the Fighting Illini last year. Cook topped the 500-point mark for the second straight season, which brought her over 1,000 points during her time at Illinois.
Cook led the team in scoring 14 times during last season, and guided Illinois to the inaugural WBIT championship. Cook was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player while scoring 27 points in the final game and breaking the program’s single-tournament scoring record with 105 points.
Cook is one of three Fighting Illini players in program history to land on the Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year preseason watch list.