Angela Lynette Aycock (born February 28, 1973), later known as Sister Paula, is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. She played for two seasons in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA) before retiring to a

monastic life Christian monasticism is the devotional practice of Christians who live ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, modeled upon scriptural ex ...

in 2002.

College career

Aycock was recruited in 1991 from Lincoln High School in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

to play college basketball for the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

( 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 ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

and Dallas Morning News Texas Player of the Year. 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 The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

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. 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.

Kansas statistics

Professional career

Early in her professional career, Aycock played two full seasons and part of a third for the

Seattle Reign OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...

in the now-defunct American Basketball League. She also traveled overseas to compete in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. 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.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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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. 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.

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. It remains the last time she has made a public appearance.

References

External links

SC Alcamo stats
at FIBAEUROPE.com

at FIBAEUROPE.com
Profile
at jayhawks.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Aycock, Angela 1973 births Living people African-American basketball players African-American Christians All-American college women's basketball players 21st-century American nuns American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriates in Canada American women's basketball players Basketball players from Dallas Christians from Texas Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Protestantism 21st-century Eastern Orthodox nuns Former Baptists Forwards (basketball) Guards (basketball) Kansas Jayhawks women's basketball players Minnesota Lynx players Phoenix Mercury players Russian Orthodox Christians from the United States Seattle Reign (basketball) players Seattle Storm players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people