Elissa Cunane

Elissa Cunane (el-EE-sa; born September 25, 2000)^[1] is an American professional basketball player for BK Žabiny Brno of the Czech Women's Basketball League. She played college basketball at NC State. She was drafted by the Seattle Storm in the 2022 WNBA draft.

Elissa Cunane

No. 33 – BK Žabiny Brno
Position	Center / power forward
League	Czech Women's Basketball League
Personal information
Born	(2000-09-25) September 25, 2000 (age 24) 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 history
2022	Minnesota Lynx
2022–present	BK Žabiny Brno
Career highlights and awards
2x Second-team All-American – AP, USBWA (2021, 2022) WBCA Coaches' All-American (2022) Third-team All-American – AP, USBWA (2020) 3× First-team All-ACC (2020–2022) ACC tournament MVP (2021) ACC All-Freshman Team (2018)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Women's basketball the  United States FIBA AmeriCup 2021 San Juan

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 Cassell.^[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]

College statistics

Year	Team	GP	Points	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2018–19	NC State	34	464	.549	.333	.760	6.3	1.1	0.3	0.8	13.6
2019–20	NC State	32	524	.547	.447	.791	9.6	1.1	0.3	1.1	16.4
2020–21	NC State	23	374	.533	.387	.843	8.3	1.8	0.7	0.9	16.3
2021–22	NC State	36	493	.531	.419	.835	7.6	1.3	0.7	0.9	13.7
Career	125	1855	.540	.411	.802	7.9	1.3	0.5	0.9	14.8

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]

Minnesota Lynx

Cunane signed a hardship contract with the Lynx on May 31, 2022. She made her WNBA debut on June 1, 2022, against the Atlanta Dream.^[11] On June 21, 2022, Cunane was released from her hardship contract.^[12] She appeared in 3 games for the Lynx.

WNBA career statistics

Legend

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

Regular Season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2022	Minnesota	3	0	3.3	.500	.000	.000	1.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.7
Career	1 year, 1 team	3	0	3.3	.500	.000	.000	1.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.7

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.^[13] He has since regained some use of his lower body and arms, but still uses a wheelchair to get around.^[14]

References

1. NC State WBB [@PackWomensBball] (September 25, 2018). "Happy birthday to @ecunane_! We hope you have a great day" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
2. "Elissa Cunane isn't playing like a freshman for N.C. State". Greensboro News & Record. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
3. "NC State's star freshman already has sophomore status in the eyes of her coach". Raleigh News & Observer. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
4. "Elissa Cunane, a freshman from Summerfield, leads N.C. State into ACC Women's Tournament". Greensboro News & Record. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
5. "Led by return of leading scorer Elissa Cunane, No. 4 NC State takes down No. 1 Louisville". ESPN. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
6. "Who's next? The top 15 2022 WNBA Draft prospects, from Rhyne Howard to Cate Reese". The Athletic. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
7. "Roster Announced for 2021 USA Basketball Women's AmeriCup Team". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on June 6, 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
8. "U.S. rolls to FIBA Women's AmeriCup title as Kentucky's Rhyne Howard named MVP". ESPN. 20 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
9. "Cunane, Brown-Turner Win AmeriCup Gold with Team USA". Rockingham Now. 20 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
10. Pope, Jonas (2022-05-02). "NC State's Elissa Cunane, Raina Perez waived by Seattle Storm ahead of WNBA season". Retrieved 2022-05-02.
11. "Minnesota Lynx Injury Updates". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
12. "Natalie Achonwa Cleared To Return". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
13. "Behind Cunane's Winning Smile". NC State University. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
14. "NC State women's basketball star inspired by dad's zest for life". ESPN. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2021.

External links

• Elissa Cunane on Twitter
• NC State Wolfpack bio
• USA Basketball bio