Lauren Cox has signed her qualifying offer to return to the Los Angeles Sparks, the team announced Tuesday, as first reported by Just Women’s Sports.

The 6-foot-4 forward appeared in 15 games for the Sparks last season, averaging 3.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in a career-high 14 minutes per game. Cox also tallied single-game career highs in scoring, rebounding and minutes for the 12-20 Sparks.

The Indiana Fever selected Cox as the No. 3 overall pick out of Baylor in the 2020 WNBA Draft. She saw action in 14 of the Fever’s 22 games during her rookie season, averaging 3.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13 minutes per game. Cox played in 11 of 16 games in 2021 before getting waived by the Fever mid-season and signing with the Sparks on June 30.

After a dominant career at Baylor, Cox has the potential to be an effective scorer, rebounder and passer for the Sparks as they look to rebound a losing season. Cox’s defensive IQ is a highly appealing aspect of her game that fits well with their defensive schemes.

The Sparks will enter 2022 with much of their roster intact. Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney Ogwumike, Erica Wheeler, Amanda Zahui B., Kristi Toliver, Brittney Sykes, Jasmine Walker and Arella Guirantes are all under contract for the upcoming season. Gabby Williams should also suit up for the Sparks after the team acquired in a trade with the the Chicago Sky last May and signed her to a contract extension. Williams missed all of the 2021 season due to commitments with the French national team.

Los Angeles has also extended a qualifying offer to third-year point guard Te’a Cooper.

Rachel Galligan is a basketball analyst at Just Women’s Sports. A former professional basketball player and collegiate coach, she also contributes to Winsidr. Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachGall.

Lauren Cox put on a show against her former team, but it wasn’t enough for the Los Angeles Sparks to overcome a late run as the Indiana Fever took the win 74-72.

The forward, who was waived by the Fever early in the season after being drafted third overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft, put up 14 points in 16 minutes.

However, late in the game, the Fever went on a 10-0 run to beat the Sparks.

Kelsey Mitchell put up 25 points for the Fever while Teaira McCowan added 15 — including two free throws in the final 15.3 seconds to cap the scoring. McCowan also tied her career high in rebounds with 19.

Nneka Ogwumike put up 17 points, five assists, one rebound and one steal in the loss to become the 28th player in WNBA history to reach 4,500 points.

With the win, the Fever improve to 6-19 while the Sparks fall to 10-17.

The Fever next take on the Phoenix Mercury, who are on a seven game win streak, on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

Lauren Cox is headed to Los Angeles.

Three days after getting waived by the Indiana Fever, the team that drafted her third overall in 2020, Cox has signed with the Sparks for the rest of the season, the team announced Wednesday. The 6-foot-4 center didn’t have much time to make her case with the Fever, playing in just 25 games over two seasons and averaging 8.6 minutes per game this year.

Cox previously was a standout player at Baylor, leading the Bears to a national championship in 2019 and winning Big 12 Player of the Year in 2020.

“We’re excited to add Lauren Cox to our organization,” Sparks coach and general manager Derek Fisher said in a press release. “Lauren delivered on the biggest stage in college as an efficient scorer, skilled passer, and tenacious rebounder for one of the nation’s most accomplished programs. We believe in her potential to be an impact player in this league and look forward to welcoming her to the Sparks family.”

In the midst of the roster shuffling, the Sparks also terminated Karlie Samuelson’s hardship contract, reportedly with the intention of re-signing the forward.

The Fever announced via Twitter on Sunday that the team had waived Lauren Cox.

The former Baylor forward was selected No. 3 overall by Indiana in the 2020 WNBA draft.

In her collegiate career, Cox was a three-time All-American, two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Naismith National Player of the Year finalist and a national champion.

Cox averaged 8.6 minutes per game with the Fever this season, netting 1.4 points and two rebounds per game. Indiana is currently 1-15 on the season, having lost their last 11 games.