Pili goes pro with 8th pick in 2024 WNBA Draft
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Add another Alaskan to the WNBA ranks.
Anchorage’s Alissa Pili was selected by the Minnesota Lynx with the eighth pick on Monday at the nationally televised 2024 WNBA Draft at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.
The University of Utah star joins Fairbanks’ Ruthy Hebard as an active WNBA player who hails from Alaska.
Pili, a 2019 graduate from Dimond High School, was one of 15 players invited by the WNBA to hear Commissioner Cathy Engelbert call their name in person.
Pili spent three seasons at the University of Southern California, where she collected Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors in the 2019-20 season.
The 6-foot-2 forward played out the last two seasons at the University of Utah, a Pac-12 program she elevated to new heights with her dynamic scoring ability. Pili averaged 21.4 points as a senior, which included a career-high 37-point outing against her former team.
Caitlin Clark, the star guard out of the University of Iowa, was taken first by the Indiana Fever, as expected.
| Alissa Pili college statistics | Year | Points | Rebounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Southern California | 2019-20 | 16.3 | 8.0 |
| University of Southern California | 2020-21 | 11.0 | 3.8 |
| University of Southern California | 2021-22 | 7.8 | 4.5 |
| University of Utah | 2022-23 | 20.7 | 5.6 |
| University of Utah | 2023-24 | 21.4 | 6.6 |
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