UConn in the WNBA: Kia Nurse Named WNBA All-Star Starter

The WNBA announced the starters for the 2019 All-Star game on Thursday. The starters are determined by fan votes, media votes, and current player votes. The fan vote accounts for 50 percent, while media and player votes account for 25 percent each.

Former UConn star Kia Nurse earned a place among the starters, ranking 4th in fan vote, 6th in media vote and 3rd in player vote among all guards in the league. Nurse is in just her second season in the league, averaging 16 points per game for the New York Liberty which ranks first among all guards in the league. She is shooting 41 percent from the floor and 36 percent from three point range. Nurse is the only former Husky in the All-Star starting lineup — the first time that’s happened since 2003.

Rookie Napheesa Collier had ranked among the top ten players in fan vote in the league’s first report out. Collier remained a strong fan favorite in the remainder of the voting, finishing 4th among all front court players. However, she ranked 12th and 13th in the media and player vote, and did not fall within the starting lineup.

The reserves for the All-Star game will be selected by the league’s coaches and will be announced on Monday, July 15th.

Hayes and Montgomery help Atlanta Dream secure two wins

After reaching the semifinals in last year’s WNBA playoffs, the Atlanta Dream’s 2019 season has been off to a rocky start. They sit at the bottom of the WNBA standings, and at this time last week had just two wins under their belt.

However, behind strong performances from two former Huskies they secured two more wins in the last week. Tiffany Hayes had 21 points to lead all scorers in a win over Seattle at the end of last week.

Yesterday, Atlanta had arguably their biggest win of the season at home over Connecticut. Hayes led all scorers again, this time with 18 points. She also added 3 assists and shot 50 percent from three. Renee Montgomery scored 12 points and added 4 assists in the win.