CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - After earning All-Big Ten First-Team honors one week ago, junior guard Makira Cook was named to the Associated Press' All-America honorable mention list, the organization announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Cook is the first Illinois women's basketball player to earn AP All-America accolades since Karisma Penn was named an AP All-America honorable-mention honoree following the 2012-13 season.

In her first season with the Orange and Blue, Cook has put together the best year of her career, registering career-best averages in minutes (33.2), points (18.2), assists (4.2), and field-goal percentage (41.5%). Her 18.2 points per game ranks first on the Illini squad and fourth in the Big Ten, while she has started all 29 games she has played in thus far.

Cook has scored in double figures 26 times and has tallied at least 20 points 14 times this season, including a career-high 33-point performance in her Big Ten debut on the road against No. 5/4 Indiana on Dec. 4.

Ranked fifth in ESPN's transfer rankings at the end of December, Cook was a unanimous All-Big Ten First-Team selection by the conference's coaches, and she was the first Illini to earn all-conference first-team honors by Big Ten coaches and media since Jenna Smith in 2010.

Cook is one of seven Big Ten student-athletes who earned All-America accolades. 21 players were named to the honorable-mention list, while 36 players earned AP All-American honors.

Cook and the Illini begin their NCAA Tournament campaign on Wednesday night in South Bend, Indiana, taking on Mississippi State in the First Four at 6 p.m. CT.