UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Two former Penn State women's basketball players will suit up on WNBA Opening Day Friday when Alex Bentley and Tanisha Wright take the court as the league kicks off its 23rd season this weekend.
Bentley begins her seventh season in the league and second as a member of the Atlanta Dream. WNBA veteran Wright will kick off her 15th season in the league as a member of the New York Liberty. Both teams hit the court Friday night with the Dream taking on Dallas at 7:30 p.m. and the Liberty hosting Indiana at 8 p.m.
Overall, Penn State has seen 15 Lady Lions selected in the WNBA Draft, including seven picked in the first 20 selections of the event. Wright and Kelly Mazzante have each achieved the ultimate goal of winning a WNBA championship, with Mazzante winning a pair of titles in Phoenix and Wright claiming a title in Seattle.
𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 ➡️ 𝐖𝐍𝐁𝐀
— Penn State Lady Lion Basketball (@PennStateWBB) May 24, 2019
Best of luck to Lady Lion alum Alex Bentley (@AtlantaDream) and Tanisha Wright (@nyliberty) as they open the @WNBA season tonight!
🔗: https://t.co/8MTgRwJn3E pic.twitter.com/mwc6Gp1Ul6
Bentley led a strong playoff push last season to help the Dream to the WNBA Semifinals. She averaged 15.6 points per game in 24.1 minutes per contest during Atlanta's playoff run. Bentley was drafted by the Dream in 2013 before spending four-plus seasons with the Connecticut Sun. The seventh-year pro was traded back to the Dream in July 2018. Bentley joined the 2,000-point club in early August 2018 and has averaged 10.8 points and 2.9 assists per game throughout her six-year professional career.
Wright is a WNBA veteran who has helped her organizations to the playoffs in 13 of her 14 seasons. The former Lady Lion led the Seattle Storm to the title in 2010 and is a five-time WNBA All-Defensive first team honoree. Wright's 3,177 career points, 1,297 assists and 1,104 rebounds make her one of 10 players in WNBA history with at least 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,200 assists. Wright Is the only player in the WNBA to have competed in 32 games for nine consecutive seasons for the same team (Seattle, 2005-13). She played in 33 games for the Minnesota Lynx last season and will be back with New York after a two-year stint with the Liberty in 2015 and 2016.