Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpannah

Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpannah (born July 12, 1997) is a Nigerian Basketball player.[1] She played college basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats[2][3] She plays for the Italian Seria A side Pallacanestro Vigarano.[4]

Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpannah
No. 22 – Pallacanestro Vigarano
PositionCenter /Power Forward
LeagueSeria A
Personal information
Born (1997-07-12) July 12, 1997
Abuja, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Career information
High schoolRabun Gap-Nacoochee School, Rabun County, Georgia
CollegeNorthwestern Wildcats
WNBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2019Chicago Sky
2019–presentPallacanestro Vigarano

High school

Kunaiyi-Akpannah started her high school in a boarding school in Nigeria, she started playing basketball at the age of 14, she attended a basketball camp Hope for girls organised by Mobolaji Akiode in Abuja Nigeria where her athletic abilities where noticed.[5] Kunaiyi-Akpannah moved to Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, Rabun County, Georgia, United States, from Nigeria when she was 15 years old, she played travel basketball during in her High school holidays and She also averaged a double-double behind close to 10 points and more than 11 rebounds per game while helping the Eagles to a 21–5 record. She led her team to a second-place finish in the 2014 State Tournament[6][2] She also participated in other sports such as track and field events during her High School.[7]

College career

Kunaiyi-Akpannah played college basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats where she was teammates with fifth overall pick in the 2017 draft Nia Coffey, she averaged less than 4 points per game and she also averaged 9.3 rebounds per game in four Big Ten Tournament games despite playing only 21.8 minutes per game in her freshman season at Northwestern[3] Kunaiyi-Akpannah sophomore year saw her average 1.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.[8][2] In her junior year, She was second in the Big Ten with 11.3 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, and her 18 double-doubles were eighth in the nation.[9][8] In her final year, she was named in the First Team All-Big Ten by the media, after finishing third in the conference in rebounds and 13th in the nation with 11 rebounds, while increasing her scoring to 11.1 points.[9] She made over 1000 rebounds during her time in college, she is the second player in Northwestern History to make over 1000 rebounds.[10][11]

Professional career

Kunaiyi-Akpannah was undrafted in the 2019 WNBA Draft, she was signed into a training camp contract by the WNBA team Chicago Sky on May 4, 2019, she was later waived by the team on May 8, 2019.[12][13] Kunaiyi-Akpannah moved to the Italian Seria A side Pallacanestro Vigarano in 2019, she plays as a Center on the team.[14] On December 15, 2019 she had a double-double which included 11 points and a career high of 27 rebounds against Broni where the team won 83–75.[15]

Nigerian National Womens Basketball team

Kunaiyi-Akpannah was called up to represent the D'Tigress and to participate in the 2019 pre Olympic Qualifying tournament in Mozambique where she made her debut in representing Nigeria, she averaged 4 rebounds during the tournament.[16][17] She was also called up to participate in the 2020 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in Belgrade.[18][19][20]

Personal life

Kunaiyi-Akpannah's parents resides in Nigeria.

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References
  1. "Pallas KUNAIYI-AKPANAH at the FIBA Women's Afrobasket 2019". FIBA.basketball.
  2. "Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah - 2018-19 - Women's Basketball". Northwestern University Athletics.
  3. Wangman, Ryan (March 6, 2019). "Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah reflects on Northwestern women's basketball career".
  4. "Pallas Kunaiyi Basketball Player Profile, Pallacanestro Vigarano, Northwestern, News, Serie A1 stats, Career, Games Logs, Best, Awards - eurobasket". Eurobasket LLC.
  5. Minichino, Adam. "Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah finds her voice". Espn.com.
  6. "pallas-kunaiyi-akpanah". ESPN.com.
  7. "Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah - Stats". MileSplit GA.
  8. Sports, HERO. "Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah Stats - 20 Player Rankings & Regular Season Stats". HERO Sports.
  9. Greenspan, Robbie (March 21, 2019). "From unknown to star, Northwestern's Kunaiyi-Akpanah leaving a legacy".
  10. Lido, Jack (April 6, 2019). "How One WNIT Play Epitomizes the Career of Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah".
  11. Coffman, Noah (February 22, 2019). "WBB: Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah reaches 1,000 rebounds in disappointing loss". Inside NU.
  12. "Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah WNBA Stats & News". www.rotowire.com.
  13. "Chicago Sky Waive Leslie Robinson, Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah". Chicago Sky.
  14. "Pallacanestro Vigarano basketball, News, Roster, Rumors, Stats, Awards, Transactions, Details - eurobasket". Eurobasket LLC.
  15. "ITALY Basketball BoxScores, ITALY Basketball Scoreboard - eurobasket". Eurobasket LLC.
  16. "FIBA.basketball". FIBA.basketball.
  17. Ezekute, Nnamdi (November 4, 2019). "Otis Names Atosu, Akhator, Kalu In D'Tigress' Squad For Pre-Olympics".
  18. "Road to Tokyo 2020: 14 players to hit D'Tigress camp". January 12, 2020.
  19. https://guardian.ng/sport/hughley-names-14-players-as-dtigress-camp-opens-february/
  20. "Nigeria reveals shortlist for Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade". FIBA.basketball.
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