Elissa Cunane

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Elissa Cunane

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| number = 33

| position = Center / power forward

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 5

| weight_lb = 190

| league = Czech Women's Basketball League

| team = BK Žabiny Brno

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2000|9|25|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Summerfield, North Carolina

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = American

| high_school = Northern Guilford
(Greensboro, North Carolina)

| college = NC State (2018–2022)

| draft_league = WNBA

| draft_year = 2022

| draft_round = 2

| draft_pick = 17

| draft_team = Seattle Storm

| career_start = 2022

| years1 = {{WNBA Year|2022}}

| team1 = Minnesota Lynx

| years2 = 2022–present

| team2 = BK Žabiny Brno

| highlights =

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)
2x ACC tournament MVP (2021, 2022)
ACC All-Freshman Team (2019)

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalSport|the {{bkw|USA}}}}

}}

Elissa Cunane ({{respell|el|EE|sa}}; born September 25, 2000){{Cite tweet|number=1044567330792132610|user=PackWomensBball|title=Happy birthday to @ecunane_! We hope you have a great day.|author=NC State WBB}} 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.

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.{{cite web |title=Elissa Cunane isn't playing like a freshman for N.C. State |url=https://greensboro.com/sports/college/accxtra/elissa-cunane-isn-t-playing-like-a-freshman-for-n/article_60c65a02-0e97-11e9-b9ea-2377725ba8b3.html |website=Greensboro News & Record |date=2 January 2019 |access-date=19 May 2021}} 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.{{cite web |title=NC State's star freshman already has sophomore status in the eyes of her coach |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article228472929.html |website=Raleigh News & Observer |access-date=19 May 2021}}{{cite web |title=Elissa Cunane, a freshman from Summerfield, leads N.C. State into ACC Women's Tournament |url=https://greensboro.com/sports/college/accxtra/elissa-cunane-a-freshman-from-summerfield-leads-n-c-state/article_a92e9df2-210c-5cbf-a33f-dcb81d2656fc.html |website=Greensboro News & Record |date=7 March 2019 |access-date=19 May 2021}}

=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.{{cite web |title=Led by return of leading scorer Elissa Cunane, No. 4 NC State takes down No. 1 Louisville |url=https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/30818117/led-return-leading-scorer-elissa-cunane-no-4-nc-state-takes-no-1-louisville |website=ESPN |date=2 February 2021 |access-date=19 May 2021}}

=Senior season=

Cunane enters her senior season as one of the top prospects in the 2022 WNBA draft.{{cite web |title=Who's next? The top 15 2022 WNBA Draft prospects, from Rhyne Howard to Cate Reese |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2522359/2021/04/16/whos-next-the-top-15-2022-wnba-draft-prospects-from-rhyne-howard-to-cate-reese/ |website=The Athletic |access-date=19 May 2021}}

College statistics

class="wikitable"; style="text-align:center"; !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
colspan=2; align=center\|Career !125 !1855 !.540 !.411 !.802 !7.9 !1.3 !0.5 !0.9 !14.8

class="wikitable"; style="text-align:center";

!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

colspan=2; align=center|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.{{cite web |title=Roster Announced for 2021 USA Basketball Women's AmeriCup Team |url=https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2021/06/w-americup-roster.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606185347/https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2021/06/w-americup-roster.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2021 |website=USA Basketball |access-date=20 June 2021}}{{cite web |title=U.S. rolls to FIBA Women's AmeriCup title as Kentucky's Rhyne Howard named MVP |url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/31672569/us-rolls-fiba-americup-title-kentucky-rhyne-howard-named-mvp |website=ESPN |date=20 June 2021 |access-date=20 June 2021}} She was named to the AmeriCup's All-Star team after averaging 12.8 points and eight rebounds during the tournament.{{cite web |title=Cunane, Brown-Turner Win AmeriCup Gold with Team USA |url=https://greensboro.com/community/rockingham_now/sports/cunane-brown-turner-win-americup-gold-with-team-usa/article_24731616-d1ff-11eb-a964-1b4a719941fa.html |website=Rockingham Now |date=20 June 2021 |access-date=20 June 2021}}

Professional career

Cunane was drafted by the Seattle Storm in the second round. She was cut after playing in two preseason games.{{Cite web |last=Pope |first=Jonas |date=2022-05-02 |title=NC State's Elissa Cunane, Raina Perez waived by Seattle Storm ahead of WNBA season |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/nc-state/article260997847.html |access-date=2022-05-02}}

=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.{{cite web |title=Minnesota Lynx Injury Updates |url=https://lynx.wnba.com/news/minnesota-lynx-injury-updates-3/ |website=lynx.wnba.com |publisher=WNBA |access-date=June 1, 2022}} On June 21, 2022, Cunane was released from her hardship contract.{{cite web |title=Natalie Achonwa Cleared To Return |url=https://lynx.wnba.com/news/natalie-achonwa-cleared-to-return-2/ |website=lynx.wnba.com |publisher=WNBA |access-date=June 22, 2022}} She appeared in 3 games for the Lynx.

=Golden State Valkyries =

Cunane signed a training camp contract with Golden State Valkyries on February 6, 2025.{{Cite web |title=Golden State Valkyries Sign Elissa Cunane |url=https://valkyries.wnba.com/news/golden-state-valkyries-sign-elissa-cunane-20250206 |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=valkyries.wnba.com |language=en}}

WNBA career statistics

=Regular Season=

| align="left" | 2022

| align="left" | Minnesota

| 3 || 0 || 3.3 || .500 || .000 || .000 || 1.7 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 0.7

| align="left" | Career

| align="left" | 1 year, 1 team

| 3 || 0 || 3.3 || .500 || .000 || .000 || 1.7 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 0.7

Czech league career statistics

Year	Team	GP	PPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	APG	RPG	SPG	BPG
class="wikitable"
2022/23	BK Žabiny Brno	25	12.1	53.5	14.3	77.8	5.6	8.9	0.7	0.5
2023/24	BK Žabiny Brno	31	14.3	63.2	39.0	80.5	7.5	11.1	0.6	0.4
2024/25	BK Žabiny Brno	30	13.0	67.5	28.9	83.2	5.9	8.4°	0.8	0.6

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.{{cite web |title=Behind Cunane's Winning Smile |url=https://news.ncsu.edu/2021/03/behind-cunanes-winning-smile/ |website=NC State University |date=17 March 2021 |access-date=19 May 2021}} He has since regained some use of his lower body and arms, but still uses a wheelchair to get around.{{cite web |title=NC State women's basketball star inspired by dad's zest for life |url=https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/28881085/nc-state-women-basketball-star-inspired-dad-zest-life |website=ESPN |date=11 March 2020 |access-date=19 May 2021}}

References

External links

{{Twitter|ecunane_}}
[https://gopack.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/elissa-cunane/9635 NC State Wolfpack bio]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20210519040740/https://www.usab.com/basketball/players/womens/c/cunane-elissa.aspx USA Basketball bio]

Category:2000 births

Category:Living people

Category:All-American college women's basketball players

Category:Basketball players from North Carolina

Category:Centers (basketball)

Category:LGBTQ basketball players

Category:LGBTQ people from North Carolina

Category:American lesbian sportswomen

Category:People from Summerfield, North Carolina

Category:Sportspeople from Guilford County, North Carolina

Category:Power forwards

Category:NC State Wolfpack women's basketball players

Category:Seattle Storm draft picks

Category:Minnesota Lynx players

Category:Expatriate basketball people in the Czech Republic

Category:21st-century American sportswomen

Category:American women's basketball players