Alison Marie Bales (born April 4, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player of the WNBA.

High school

At the age of five, her family moved from

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana, where she was born, to the

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

suburb of Beavercreek, Ohio; she played high school basketball for Beavercreek High School. Bales was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2003 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored three points.

College

After her senior year, she committed to

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

to play for the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

women's basketball team. At 6' 7" she played center for Duke, and later became the all-time shot block leader at Duke and 3rd all-time in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

history. In the 2006 NCAA women's tournament, Bales set a Women's Tournament record by blocking 30 shots in six games (Duke lost to

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

rival

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

in the championship game). This would stand as a record until it was broken by Baylor's

Brittney Griner Brittney Yevette Griner (; born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's natio ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. Bales graduated from Duke with a double major in cultural anthropology and biology.

Duke statistics

Source

WNBA career

On her birthday, Bales was drafted No. 9 overall by the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

in the 2007 WNBA Draft. After a season and a half with Indiana, Bales was traded to the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

for

Kristen Mann Kristen Cherie Mann (born August 10, 1983) is an former American professional basketball player who played in the WNBA. Childhood Born in Lakewood, California on August 10, 1983, Mann is the daughter of Kathy Deeds and Gene Mann. She has two ...

on July 4, 2008. She would complete the season with Atlanta, and then be traded to the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season ...

on January 21, 2009 for the 18th pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft. Bales was waived by the Phoenix Mercury on June 4, 2009. After another season overseas, Bales was picked back up by the Atlanta Dream. Over the course of her WNBA career, Bales averaged 3.8 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game. On April 10, 2012, Bales announced her retirement to attend medical school.

Overseas career

Bales also played for the Dynamo Moscow professional basketball club in Russia during the winter of 2007–2008. She is currently playing in the offseason for L Union Jainaut Basket Saint Amon in France. She played for Turkey's Samsun during the 2008–09 off-season.

Post Basketball Career

After retiring from her basketball career, she attended Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University starting in May 2013. After graduating and obtaining her MD, she attended the General Surgery Residency program at Indiana University, and will be completing her surgical fellowship in Trauma and Critical Care Surgery.

Notes

External links

*
Dream trades Mann for Bales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bales, Alison 1985 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball players Atlanta Dream players Basketball players from Ohio Basketball players from Indianapolis Centers (basketball) Duke Blue Devils women's basketball players Indiana Fever draft picks Indiana Fever players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) People from Beavercreek, Ohio 21st-century American women