Five Former Cards on 2022 WNBA Opening Day Rosters
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Women's National Basketball Association has officially returned. After playing a slightly truncated schedule in 2021 due to COVID, the league is now back to a full 36-game schedule for 2022, and the season-opener is finally here.
With play for the league's 26th season scheduled to begin today, Friday, May 6, five former Louisville women's basketball players are on final 2022 rosters following training camp: guard Asia Durr, guard Dana Evans, forward Emily Engstler, forward Myisha Hines-Allen and guard/forward Angel McCoughtry.
In the days leading up to the start of the season, three former Cardinals were waived during training camp. The Indiana Fever cut Jazmine Jones claiming her off waivers from the New York Liberty back in February, the Los Angeles Sparks cut Kianna Smith after selecting her in April's WNBA Draft, and Kylee Shook is sitting the 2022 season due to personal reasons.
After missing both the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to a bout with long-haul COVID, Durr, who now goes simply by "AD", was cleared to resume basketball activities last November, and will return action this year. They last played in 2019 with the New York Liberty, averaging 9.7 points and 1.7 assists over 18 games and 15 starts, while shooting 46.7 percent from the field.
Evans is set to begin her first full season with the reigning champion Chicago Sky after being acquired in a trade with the Dallas Wings last year as a rookie. Coming off the bench to make 29 total appearances, she averaged 3.3 points and 1.0 assist during the regular season, shooting 34.2 percent from the field but 40.0 percent on threes. She also totaled 15 points in nine playoff games during the Sky's title run.
The highest Louisville draftee from last month's WNBA Draft, Engstler was selected with the No. 4 overall pick held by the Indiana Fever. But like Evans with the Wings last year, a spot on the roster was far from guaranteed, as the Fever held four of the 12 picks in the first round, and competition to land a roster spot was fierce.
Following a breakout 2020 campaign, Hines-Allen saw a slight dip in production for the Washington Mystics, but was still effective. She was one of three players to average double figures at 12.9 points per game, her 7.0 rebounds was good for second on the team and her 2.5 assists was third. She also chipped in 1.3 steals and a 41.4 shooting percentage across 18 games and 17 starts.
Another former Cardinal making a triumphant return is McCoughtry. After suffering a torn ACL and meniscus in her right knee in the first game of the 2021 season as a member of the Las Vegas Aces, she signed with the Minnesota Lynx in free agency, and ready for start her comeback tour. She averaged 14.4 points and 2.5 assists per game on 51.8 percent shooting during her last full season in 2020 with the Aces.
(Photo of Asia Durr via The Next Hoops)
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