Elissa Cunane (; born September 25, 2000) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for BK Žabiny Brno of the

Czech Women's Basketball League Czech Championship women's basketball (Czech language, Czech: ''Česká ženská basketbalová liga'') - basketball tournament among Czech women's teams. The first draw took place in 1993, which became the champions of the Prague team USK Praha (wo ...

. She played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

. She was drafted by the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

in the

2022 WNBA draft The 2022 WNBA Draft, the WNBA's draft for the 2022 WNBA season, was held on April 11, 2022, in New York City and aired live on WNBA on ESPN, ESPN in the United States and on The Sports Network, TSN1/4 in Canada at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, EDT ...

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. 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.

Sophomore season

Cunane started 31 of the 32 games she appeared in, averaging a near

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

as she also earned third-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In her return, she put up 16 points and 6 rebounds in a 74–60 win against No. 1 ranked

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Senior season

Cunane enters her senior season as one of the top prospects in the 2022

WNBA draft The WNBA draft is an annual draft (sports), draft held by the Women's National Basketball Association, WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and List of WNBA players, professional women's basketball p ...

College statistics

National team career

Cunane represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup, where they won gold. She was named to the AmeriCup's All-Star team after averaging 12.8 points and eight rebounds during the tournament.

Professional career

Cunane was drafted by the

in the second round. She was cut after playing in two preseason games.

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 The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Dream compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded for the ...

. On June 21, 2022, Cunane was released from her hardship contract. She appeared in 3 games for the Lynx.

Golden State Valkyries

Cunane signed a training camp contract with

Golden State Valkyries The Golden State Valkyries are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Valkyries compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team began play in the 2025 se ...

on February 6, 2025.

WNBA career statistics

Regular Season

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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Czech league career statistics

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

References

External links

*
NC State Wolfpack bio

USA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunane, Elissa 2000 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players Basketball players from North Carolina Centers (basketball) LGBTQ basketball players LGBTQ people from North Carolina American lesbian sportswomen People from Summerfield, North Carolina Sportspeople from Guilford County, North Carolina Power forwards NC State Wolfpack women's basketball players Seattle Storm draft picks Minnesota Lynx players Expatriate basketball people in the Czech Republic 21st-century American sportswomen American women's basketball players