Former Desert Vista standout Kristine Anigwe drafted in the WNBA first round by the Connecticut Sun

April 13, 2019 by Andy Morales, AZPreps365


Kristine Anigwe (WNBA Photo)

Former Desert Vista standout Kristine Anigwe was the ninth pick in the WBNA Draft (Connecticut Sun) held on April 10. The first-round selection scored 1,545 career points at Desert Vista from 2012 to 2015 before moving on to play for Cal where she earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.

Dream come true 🙏🏽

Thank you God. Thank you to my family, friends, @CalCoachG, @CalWBBall and everyone who believed

And thank you @ConnecticutSun for taking a chance on me. I can’t wait to get to work pic.twitter.com/16ZfiQXNSq

— Kristine (@KristineAnigwe) April 11, 2019

Anigwe (6-4) was the Arizona Player of the Year after she led Desert Vista to a state championship.

The Connecticut Sun has already placed Anigwe on their roster

“We’re ecstatic she dropped,” Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said about Anigwe in a release. “We had her going at four. I have had Anigwe going to Chicago at four for the past six weeks, so when she didn’t go at four, we had hope.”

Anigwe was the 2019 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, she led the nation in rebounding with 16.2 rebounds per game. The first four-time All-American in Cal history, Anigwe pulled down 533 rebounds as a senior, the highest single-season rebounding total ever by a Pac-12 player. The 6-foor-4 center was the first Division I women’s player in 30 years to average over 22 points and 16 rebounds per game with totals of 22.3 points and 16.2 rebounds per game this season. She is Cal’s all-time leader in career points (2,591), rebounds (1,404) and blocks (205).

An absolute machine inside.

Get used to seeing @KristineAnigwe do this in a blue and orange jersey! pic.twitter.com/nHFE1W45pl

— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) April 13, 2019

Portions from release.