Angela Aycock
Angela Lynette Aycock (born February 28, 1973), later known as Sister Paula, is an American former professional basketball player. She played for two seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) before retiring to a monastic life in 2002.[1]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | February 28, 1973 Dallas, Texas | |||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |||||||||||
| Listed weight | 161 lb (73 kg) | |||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||
| High school | Lincoln (Dallas, Texas) | |||||||||||
| College | Kansas (1991–1995) | |||||||||||
| Playing career | 1995–2002 | |||||||||||
| Position | Guard | |||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | SC Alcamo | |||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Seattle Reign | |||||||||||
| 1999 | Panathinaikos AC | |||||||||||
| 1999 | Phoenix Mercury | |||||||||||
| 2000 | Seattle Storm | |||||||||||
| 2000 | Minnesota Lynx | |||||||||||
| Career WNBA statistics | ||||||||||||
| Points | 8 (1.1 ppg) | |||||||||||
| Assists | 7 (1.0 apg) | |||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | ||||||||||||
Medals
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College career
Aycock was recruited in 1991 from Lincoln High School in Dallas, Texas to play college basketball for the University of Kansas (Kansas Jayhawks). At the time she was touted as the second-best player in the country by the Women's Basketball News Service, and was the USA Today and Dallas Morning News Texas Player of the Year.[2]
In her sophomore year, she was named team captain. As a junior, she was the Big Eight Conference co-player of the year. In her senior year, she made several All-America teams. By the end of her college career she had scored 1,978 points for Jayhawks, the third highest total in the team's history.[1][3]
She also turned out for the USA Women's U18 and U19 teams, in 1992 and 1993. Her U18 team won the silver medal at the COPABA Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament in Guanajuato, Mexico.[4][5][6]
Kansas statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | Kansas | 29 | 300 | 47.5% | 0.0% | 63.3% | 5.2 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 10.3 |
| 1992-93 | Kansas | 30 | 489 | 47.1% | 25.0% | 67.8% | 6.9 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 16.3 |
| 1993-94 | Kansas | 28 | 473 | 44.6% | 14.3% | 69.8% | 8.7 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 16.9 |
| 1994-95 | Kansas | 31 | 716 | 41.3% | 32.8% | 74.4% | 7.3 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 23.1 |
| Career | 118 | 1978 | 44.5% | 31.0% | 70.7% | 7.0 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 16.8 |
Professional career
Early in her professional career, Aycock played two full seasons and part of a third for the Seattle Reign in the now-defunct American Basketball League. She also traveled overseas to compete in Italy, Greece, Spain, France and South Korea. In her short stint with the WNBA she saw game time with the Phoenix Mercury, the Minnesota Lynx and the Seattle Storm. Overall, she featured in 98 games for the ABL, and in 12 for the WNBA.[1][7]
WNBA career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
Post-basketball
In 2002, Aycock moved on from professional basketball to become a nun of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia after converting to it, coming from a Baptist background. According to her sister, she was apparently introduced to the church during her time visiting various churches and cathedrals in Europe.[8] She took the name Sister Paula, and was subsequently cloistered at the Protection of the Holy Virgin Mary Convent in Bluffton, Canada. In mid-2003 she transferred to another convent, the location of which is not known.[1]
Other honors
In February 2003, Aycock made the journey from her Bluffton convent to the KU campus in Lawrence, Kansas to see her jersey (No. 12) retired.[1][3] It remains the last time she has made a public appearance.[1]
References
- Anderson, Jared (February 22, 2017). "After dominance at Kansas, Angela Aycock became Sister Paula, a nun in the Russian Orthodox Church". The University Daily Kansan. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- Horn, Miranda (December 22, 2020). "Jayhawk Insider: A Higher Calling". Kansas Athletics. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- "Jayhawks to pay tribute to Dixon, Aycock tonight". KUsports.com. February 3, 2003. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- "USA Women's FIBA Americas U18 Championship Team All-Time Alphabetical Roster". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- "USA All-Time Women's U19 World Championship Alphabetical Roster". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- "Second Women's Junior World Championship Qualifying Team –1992". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- "Aycock's ABL & WNBA stats". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
- "Aycock aiming higher". Dallas Morning News. July 13, 2003. Retrieved April 4, 2021 – via KUsports.com.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- SC Alcamo stats at FIBAEUROPE.com
- Panathinaikos AC stats at FIBAEUROPE.com
- Profile at jayhawks.org