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Alissa Pili selected by Minnesota Lynx in 2024 WNBA draft

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Alissa Pili selected by Minnesota Lynx in 2024 WNBA draft


Alissa Pili is headed to Minnesota.

The former Utah All-American forward was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft on Monday night.

She becomes the seventh Ute to be selected in the WNBA draft, and the first since Megan Huff was a third-round selection by the New York Liberty in 2019.

Pili thrived in Lynne Roberts’ system over the past two seasons — she was named the 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year in her first season in Utah after transferring from USC, and this past season, she earned All-Pac-12 honors for the third time.

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What is Minnesota getting in Pili?

Two-year averages at Utah: 21.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists per game.

Shooting percentages at Utah: 56.8% on field goals, 41.1% 3-point, 80.9% free throws.

The Alissa Pili file

Height: 6-foot-2.

Position: Forward.

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College: USC (2019-22), Utah (2022-24).

Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska.

What others said about Alissa Pili

“Footwork, ball skills and shooting touch make Pili an intriguing prospect,” said ESPN’s Charlie Creme. “She has the makings of a pick-and-pop power forward. But she’s a bit slow as a defender and struggles to play vertically as a rebounder, so how Pili is used will be critical.”

“Even by the time you reach the latter stage of the first round in the WNBA draft, you’re not expecting to hit a home run as a general manager. This is when you may start to target players with one obvious skill, a label that applies to Utah’s Alissa Pili,” said Bleacher Report’s Joseph Zucker. “Pili shot 41.1 percent from beyond the arc in two years at Utah. While she’ll have to learn how to play without the ball much more (30.3 percent career usage rate, per Sports Reference), she has the potential to be a small-ball stretch 4.”

“I think she’s a pro-ready offensive player. My question is what do you do with her defensively? She’s 6 feet and she’s a center at 6 feet. Can she defend at our level?” an anonymous WNBA GM told The Athletic. “Can she make her body more prepared? Offensively, she can play in our league. It’s the other end of the floor that’s the question mark.”

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Utah Utes players previously taken in the WNBA draft

2006 — Shona Thorburn, guard, first round, No. 7 overall pick, Minnesota Lynx.

2006 — Kim Smith, forward, first round, No. 13 overall pick, Sacramento Monarchs.

2008 — Leilani Mitchell, guard, second round, No. 25 overall pick, Phoenix Mercury.

2009 — Morgan Warburton, guard, third round, No. 33 overall pick, Sacramento Monarchs.

2014 — Michelle Plouffe, forward, second round, No. 19 overall pick, Seattle Storm.

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2019 — Megan Huff, forward, third round, No. 26 overall pick, New York Liberty.



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Utah

Utah Sweeps UCLA For First Time Ever, Jump Into Top 25

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Utah Sweeps UCLA For First Time Ever, Jump Into Top 25


The Utah Utes baseball team is in the midst of a fantastic season that got even better on Sunday after they officially swept UCLA.

It marked the first time that they swept Utah in program history, and it also saw them jump into a first place tie with Arizona. Kai Roberts launched a home run, and also nabbed stolen base No. 28 on the year for what was the single-season program record. His outfield running mate TJ Clarkson also had a fantastic day, going 3-for-4 and was just a triple shy of securing the cycle.

The Utes went on to win the game by a score of 12-7, and also ascended to No. 25 in the country according to D1Baseball.

The Utes will hit the road for the next four games, as they head to Oregon for a three game series against the formerly ranked Ducks before returning to Utah to take on Utah Tech at their place.

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Utah pet cat found after week trapped inside Amazon return box to California

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Utah pet cat found after week trapped inside Amazon return box to California


A cat from Utah has been found in a Californian Amazon warehouse after being accidentally shipped in a return box by her owners.

Galena vanished on 10 April – leaving her owners perplexed as to her whereabouts after family and friends helped them search their home and neighbourhood without success.

Owner Carrie Clark told KSL TV – an affiliate of Sky’s US partner NBC News – that she received a text message on 17 April informing her Galena’s microchip had been scanned.

Immediately afterwards she got a call from a vet in California.

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“I didn’t believe her at first and thought it was a prank,” she told KSL.

“I ran to tell my husband that Galena was found and we broke down upon realising that she must have jumped into an oversized box that we shipped out the previous Wednesday.

“The box was a ‘try before your buy’ and filled with steel-toed work boots.”

Galena had been trapped inside for six days without food or water.

Ms Clark told KSL she was able to speak with the Amazon warehouse worker, Brandy, who found Galena. The Amazon employee told Clark over the phone that she took care of Galena before taking her to the vet the next day.

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Upon getting the call, the couple booked a flight for the next day and were reunited with the family pet.

“Despite being skinnier and some mild dehydration, her bloodwork was completely normal and she was completely unharmed,” Ms Clark said.

Read more from Sky News:
Briton attacked by shark ‘now able to communicate’
More human remains found as part of Salford torso inquiry

The couple updated a Facebook post on a Utah county lost and found pets group page and hailed Galena’s “survival story”.

They wrote: “We’re in awe of all the tender mercies that have taken place. It’s a total miracle!!”

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Ms Clark told KSL she wants to encourage all pet owners to microchip their animals, and added: “Triple check your Amazon boxes.”



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Crash on US Highway 6 near Thistle has closed traffic in both directions

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Crash on US Highway 6 near Thistle has closed traffic in both directions


THISTLE, Utah County The Utah Highway Patrol says a crash head-on collision on U.S. Highway 6 has closed traffic in both directions Sunday evening. 

The crash happed in the eastbound lanes near milepost 191 around 5:39 p.m.

The UHP said at least one person was transported by helicopter.

The UHP said a white pickup was traveling westbound at milepost 191, while a silver Mazda was in the eastbound lanes. According to the UHP, the pickup left its lane and struck the Mazda head-on. The driver of the Mazda was transported by helicopter with critical injuries.

Additional information will be provided as it becomes available. The UHP is investigating the cause of the crash.





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