Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/740544
2016-17 PAC-12 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL // HISTORY 102 PAC-12 IN THE WNBA Many outstanding Pac-12 women's basketball players have gone on to succeed at the professional level, as 10 former Pac-12 stars were on the opening day rosters as players or coaches in the WNBA. Headlining the list of former Pac-12 athletes who have played in the WNBA is Lisa Leslie, a five-time All-WNBA first team honoree and the 2002 WNBA Finals MVP who retired in 2009. Leslie became the first WNBA player to amass 5,000 career points and recorded the first dunk in league history during the 2002 season. She guided the Los Angeles Sparks to back-to-back league titles in 2001 and 2002. Fellow USC alums and retired WNBA stars Tina Thompson and Cynthia Cooper helped guide the Houston Comets to four-straight WNBA titles from 1997-2000. Most recently, former Stanford Cardinal and current LA Spark Nnemkadi Ogwumike was named the WNBA's Rookie of the Year in 2012. Two years later, her sister Chiney won the award as a member of the Connecticut Sun. In 2016, Nnemkadi was voted the WNBA Player of the Year. PAC-12 PLAYERS IN THE WNBA (2016) Player School/Graduated WNBA Team Jayne Appel-Marinelli Stanford '10 San Antonio Silver Stars Brittany Boyd California '15 New York Liberty Layshia Clarendon California '13 Atlanta Dream Miles Cooper USC Atlanta Dream, Asst. Coach Reshanda Gray California '15 Atlanta Dream Julie Brase Hargrove Arizona '03 Phoenix Mercury, Asst. Coach Ruth Hamblin Oregon State '16 Dallas Wings Briann January Arizona State '09 Indiana Fever Leilani Mitchell Utah '08 Washington Mystics Chiney Ogwumike Stanford '14 Connecticut Sun Nnemkadi Ogwumike Stanford '12 Los Angeles Sparks Shelley Patterson Washington State '83 Minnesota Lynx, Asst. Coach Jeanette Pohlen Stanford '11 Indiana Fever Noelle Quinn UCLA '07 Seattle Storm Karleen Thompson USC '97 Atlanta Dream, Assoc. Coach USC's Lisa Leslie was named the MVP of the 2002 WNBA Championship. #9 LISA LESLIE (USC) • Starting center for the Los Angeles Sparks,three- time MVP, named to the WNBA All-Decade Team • First WNBA player to amass 5,000 career points • Recorded first dunk in WNBA history during 2002 season • Named MVP of the 2002 WNBA Championship • Named MVP of the WNBA All Star game in 1999, 2001 and 2002 • Named to the All-WNBA Second Team in 1998, 1999 and 2005, First Team in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 • Helped lead Sparks to two WNBA titles in 2001 and 2002 • Seven-time All-Star participant and All-Star MVP in 2001, 2004 and 2006 UCLA's Natalie Wiliams was USA Basketball's Female Athlete of the Year in 1999. #24 NATALIE WILLIAMS (UCLA) • Named first team All-WNBA in 1999, 2001 • Competed in the now-defunct ABL, was selected as the 1998 ABL MVP and named to the ABL All-Star Game • Led league in total rebounds (336) and rebounds per game (11.6) and double-doubles • Five-time All-Star selection- 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004 • USA Basketball's Female Athlete of the Year in 1999 USC's Tina Thompson (left) and Cynthia Cooper (right) cel- ebrate four straight WNBA titles with the Houston Comets. #7 TINA THOMPSON (USC) • A starter for the four-time WNBA champion Houston Comets ('97, '98, '99, '00) • Named to the All-WNBA First Team in 1997, 1998 and 2004 and Second Team in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 • Named Most Valuable Player in the WBNA 2000 All Star game • One of just five women to play in four WNBA All Star games • Became just the second player in WNBA history to surpass the 4,000 point mark • Named to the WNBA All-Decade Team #14 CYNTHIA COOPER (USC) • A member of the four-time WNBA champion Houston Comets ('97, '98, '99, '00) • Named MVP of the WNBA Championship in 1997, 1998 and 2000 • Named the winner of the WNBA Most Valuable Award in both 1997 and 1998 • Selected to the All-WNBA First Team all four years (1997-00) and WNBA All-Decade Team • Led the WNBA in scoring in 1997 (22.2 ppg) and 1998 (22.7 ppg) A former WNBA No. 1 Draft pick, Nnemkadi Ogwumike was voted WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2012 and WNBA Player of the Year in 2016.