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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Women’s National Basketball Association has officially returned. Eight months after the New York Liberty were able to secure their first WNBA Championship, the season-opener for the 2025 season is finally here.
With play for the league’s 29th season scheduled to begin today, Friday, May 16, four former Louisville women’s basketball players are on opening day rosters following training camp: guards Dana Evans and Hailey Van Lith, plus forwards Emily Engstler and Myisha Hines-Allen.
After spending the last three seasons with the Chicago Sky, Evans will be playing her fifth season in the WNBA out west with the Las Vegas Aces. The 5-foot-6 combo guard is coming off of a solid 2024 campaign, averaging 7.2 points and 2.4 assists in 39 games and 12 starts, while also shooting 37.8 percent from the field and 37.6 percent on three-point tries.
As for Van Lith, she is heading into her first season in the WNBA, getting selected by the Sky with the No. 11 pick in this past April’s draft. She played her first three years in college with the Cardinals, prior to single-season stints with both LSU and TCU. She captured All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year honors this past season, averaging 17.2 points, 5.4 assists and 4.6 rebound per game.
After her playing her first two seasons in the WNBA with both the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx, Engstler is set to player her second consecutive season with the Washington Mystics. Last year was a career year for the 6-foot-1 forward, who put up 6.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 32 games and three starts, while also shooting 49.4 percent from the floor and 47.4 percent from deep.
Hines-Allen is entering her eighth season in the WNBA, making her the second-longest tenured former Cardinal in the WNBA, behind only Angel McCoughtry. After being with the Mystics since she was drafted in 2018, she was dealt to the Minnesota Lynx ahead of last season’s trade deadline, and will start this season with the Dallas Wings. In 40 games and 11 starts last season, the 6-foot-1 forward put up 7.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, while connecting on 49.2 percent of her attempts.
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(Photo of Dana Evans via the Las Vegas Aces)
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