Five Former UConn Stars Named Starters in 2017 WNBA All-Star Game

On Tuesday morning, the WNBA revealed the starters for the 2017 All-Star Game, taking place on July 22 at KeyArena in Seattle. Five of the 10 starters across the East and West teams are UConn graduates while no other school had more than one.

Tina Charles and Tiffany Hayes will be starting for the East while Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, and Sue Bird will start for the West.

Bird, who is playing for Seattle, tied the WNBA record for all-star selections with 10 and was voted to the starting lineup for the eighth time. She was the fifth-highest vote-getter, and this year is averaging 10.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game in 30.2 minutes per contest.

Charles is now a five-time all-star and a three-time starter. She is averaging 20.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game for the New York Liberty, good for second in the league in points per game and third in rebounds per game.

Hayes, of the Atlanta Dream, is a first-time all-star this season. She has been averaging career highs in both points per game (16.6) and rebounds per game (4.5) and is fourth in the league in steals per game, at 1.7.

Moore was the leading vote-getter this year and has been selected to her fifth all-star game, starting all five. She has had a great season for Minnesota so far, averaging 15.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game.

Taurasi, who became the all-time leader in points scored last month, makes her eighth all-star game and has been a starter all eight times. She is averaging 18.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 40.3 percent from three-point range.

The reserves for the game will be announced on ESPN2 during its broadcast of the Seattle Storm and Chicago Sky on July 18 at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.