Feb. 13, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" It's hard sometimes to find a home in professional sports and it can be even harder to continually earn a roster spot, but former Penn State women's basketball student-athletes Alex Bentley and Nikki Greene each inked WNBA contracts last week, with Bentley resigning with Connecticut and Greene signing on with Seattle.
A four-year WNBA veteran, Bentley has played her last three seasons with the Connecticut Sun and looks to become a face of the franchise as she inked a multi-year deal, according to the team's official website. No official details of the deal have been release.
A 2015 WNBA All-Star, Bentley collected her 1,500th career point and 350th assist during the 2016 WNBA season. Making a career-best 34 starts last season, she led the team in scoring, at 12.9 points per game and was second on the team in assists (85). The Indianapolis, Ind. native set new single-season career highs for made 3-pointers (48), made field goals (169), rebounds (63) and free throws made (51) while also playing a career-high 979 minutes.
In her career, Bentley has been a candidate for WNBA Most Improve Player twice, while also setting her name among the WNBA MVP candidates during the 2015 season, before her season ended early due to injury. The 2015 season included being named the WNBA East All-Star MOP after scoring 23 points with five made 3-pointers.
With two years of WNBA service under her belt, Greene is currently playing for Sleza Wroclaw in Poland, and averages 11.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Spanning her two seasons in the association, she has appeared in 23 games, with stops in Los Angeles in 2014 and Connecticut in 2015. Greene was drafted 26th overall in the 2013 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury.
Greene is the only player in Penn State history to reach 1,000 points, 900 rebounds and 200 blocks. She ranks second all-time at Penn State with 215 blocked shots and is fourth in rebounds with 994 while starting a program-record 131 games throughout her Lady Lion career.
Other Lady Lions in the WNBA include Maggie Lucas, who missed last season due to injury and will look to return to the court with the Indiana Fever when the 2017 season begin, and Tanisha Wright, who was designated at the New York Liberty's core player, a designation that gives the Liberty exclusive rights to negotiate with her.
Historically, Penn State has seen 15 alums drafted in the WNBA Draft since 1997 and has seen three players claim WNBA Championships in Kelly Mazzante (twice) and Wright. Along with Mazzante and Wright, Bentley and Lucas, Helen Darling has also helped guide a team to the WNBA Finals.