Former Louisville University basketball star and Gary, Indiana native Dana Evans made history on Sunday night (October 17), by helping the Chicago Sky win their first ever WNBA Championship in the franchise’s history.
As a key player on the Sky championship roster, Evans played all four games of the 2021 WNBA Finals and scored three points in game two and nine points in game three of the best of five series.
Evans, who played her high school career in the state of Indiana, was a two-time ACC Basketball Player of the Year at the University of Louisville.
According to her bio, Evans was drafted by the Dallas Wings with the 13th overall pick of the 2021 WNBA Draft. She grew up in ‘the Steel City’ of Gary, Indiana, where she did not play basketball until the fourth grade.
After deciding to play during her fourth grade year, Evans immediately excelled at the sport.
Evans was praised for her skills on defense, and was said to have garnered an offer to play college basketball by Valparaiso head coach Keith Freeman in the sixth grade.
Evans was the first girl from Gary to make it to the McDonald’s All-American Game. She averaged over 35 points per game in her senior year in high school and won three Class 4A sectional titles for (Gary) West Side Leadership Academy.
Dana Evans was traded to the Sky on June 2, 2021 of this season, and provided the Sky much needed help off the bench.
Other Evans accolades included being a top recruit in college basketball after committing to playing at Louisville, named to the ACC All-Freshman team in 2018, and was named the ACC sixth player of the year in college after averaging over 10 points per game off the bench.
Evans was named the ACC Player of the Year in 2020, the first player in ACC history to go from winning sixth woman player of the year to player of the year.
Evans was also named the conference player of the year in 2021.
Congrats to Evans on her success with the Chicago Sky and becoming a first time WNBA Champion.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
