Courtesy of Bethune-Cookman Athletics
Bethune-Cookman Athletics has learned of the passing of former Women’s Basketball standout Kendra Cooper. She was 27.
Cooper, who played at B-CU from 2013-2017, was the program’s all-time three-point field goal leader with 259, a record that stands today. She also finished at the sixth all-time leading scorer with 1,302 points.
She led the Wildcats to two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season championships, an appearance in the 2017 championship and two WNIT post-season appearances. During her final three seasons, B-CU was 42-6 in conference play.
“It was an absolute honor to have been entrusted by her parents to be her coach,” said Vanessa Blair-Lewis, Cooper’s coach at B-CU and now the Head Coach at George Mason. “Her legendary impact on B-CU, the MEAC, her coaches, teammates, the administration and her friends will never be forgotten. Kendra Cooper left as a champion.”
Cooper was named to the All-Conference team twice and a Boxtorow 1st Team All American nod in 2016.
In her junior season, Cooper averaged 14.1 points per game and led the MEAC in both three-point field goals made (73) and three-point field goal percentage (.372). She scored a career-high 31 points in a December game against Georgia Southern where she matched her single-game high of seven three- pointers.
In the 2017 MEAC tournament, she scored her tournament high of 20 points in an opening round victory over Savannah State that started the Wildcats’ run to the title game. She ended her career against Wake Forest in the WNIT.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies.
A native of Spring, Tex., Cooper played her high school basketball at the John Cooper school. As a junior, she led the nation in three-pointers per game (6.8) and was top 10 nationally in scoring (29.5 ppg).
She is survived by her parents Mike and Angelia and her brother Evan.
