Elissa Cunane
| No. 33 – Seattle Storm | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Center / Power forward | ||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | September 25, 2000 Summerfield, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Northern Guilford (Greensboro, North Carolina) | ||||||||||||||
| College | NC State (2018–2022) | ||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2022: 2nd round, 17th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Seattle Storm | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2022–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Elissa Cunane (el-EE-sa; born September 25, 2000)[1] is an American professional basketball player. She played college basketball at NC State.
College career
Freshman season
Cunane came off the bench in her freshman season for majority of the season while also coming back from a foot fracture she suffered in high school.[2] Despite being a bench player, she often played in late-game situations and was a key player towards the end of the Wolfpack's season, starting after an injury to regular starter Erika Barrett.[3][4]
Sophomore season
Cunane started 31 of the 32 games she appeared in, averaging a near double-double as she also earned third-team All-American honors. She also set a NC State single-season record for most made free throws with 159.
Junior season
In her junior season, Cunane started all 23 games she appeared in, despite missing a month recovering from COVID-19. In her return, she put up 16 points and 6 rebounds in a 74–60 win against No. 1 ranked Louisville.[5]
Senior season
Cunane enters her senior season as one of the top prospects in the 2022 WNBA draft.[6]
National team career
Cunane represented the United States at the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup, where they won gold.[7][8] She was named to the AmeriCup's All-Star team after averaging 12.8 points and eight rebounds during the tournament.[9]
Professional career
Cunane was drafted by the Seattle Storm in the second round. She was cut after playing in two preseason games.[10]
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 |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | NC State | 34 | 11 | 24.8 | .549 | .333 | .760 | 6.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 13.6 |
| 2019–20 | NC State | 32 | 31 | 27.3 | .547 | .447 | .791 | 9.6 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 16.4 |
| 2020–21 | NC State | 23 | 23 | 26.8 | .533 | .387 | .843 | 8.3 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 16.3 |
| Career | 89 | 65 | 26.2 | .544 | .407 | .792 | 8.0 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 15.3 | |
Personal life
Cunane is the daughter of Dan and Sharon Cunane and sister to older sibling William Paul. Dan is a former Greensboro police sergeant who suffered an injury in a bicycle accident when Elissa was two, initially paralyzing him from the neck down.[11] He has since regained some use of his lower body and arms, but still uses a wheelchair to get around.[12]
References
- ^ NC State WBB [@PackWomensBball] (September 25, 2018). "Happy birthday to @ecunane_! We hope you have a great day" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Elissa Cunane isn't playing like a freshman for N.C. State". Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "NC State's star freshman already has sophomore status in the eyes of her coach". Raleigh News & Observer. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "Elissa Cunane, a freshman from Summerfield, leads N.C. State into ACC Women's Tournament". Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "Led by return of leading scorer Elissa Cunane, No. 4 NC State takes down No. 1 Louisville". ESPN. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "Who's next? The top 15 2022 WNBA Draft prospects, from Rhyne Howard to Cate Reese". The Athletic. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "Roster Announced for 2021 USA Basketball Women's AmeriCup Team". USA Basketball. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "U.S. rolls to FIBA Women's AmeriCup title as Kentucky's Rhyne Howard named MVP". ESPN. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "Cunane, Brown-Turner Win AmeriCup Gold with Team USA". Rockingham Now. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ Pope, Jonas (2022-05-02). "NC State's Elissa Cunane, Raina Perez waived by Seattle Storm ahead of WNBA season". Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "Behind Cunane's Winning Smile". NC State University. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "NC State women's basketball star inspired by dad's zest for life". ESPN. Retrieved 19 May 2021.