Elissa Cunane Named AP Second Team All-American
from www.gopack.com:
NEW YORK – NC State women’s basketball center Elissa Cunane(Northern Guilford High School) earned recognition as an Associated Press All-American for the third year in a row as she was named to the Second Team for the 2021-22 season.
Cunane remains the only player in NC State women’s basketball history to earn a spot on one of the three teams after six honorable mention recognitions before her. She is also the only player in team history to be recognized by the Associated Press three times in her career.
The Wolfpack senior was a Consensus First Team All-ACC selection after helping NC State to its first regular-season crown since 1990, and she repeated as ACC Tournament MVP following the Wolfpack’s third-straight title at the event.
Cunane is also in consideration for multiple other national honors this season, including being a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award, a semifinalist for Naismith Player of the Year and a finalist on the John R. Wooden Award National Ballot.
A native of Summerfield, N.C., Cunane is putting up team-best averages in scoring (13.8), rebounding (7.7) and field-goal percentage (.526). She is the only center in the nation who is shooting 50+ percent overall, 40+ percent (.448) from three-point range and 80+ percent (.828) from the free throw line. She has scored in double figures in 25 games, highlighted by five 20+ point outings, and has posted a team-leading eight double-doubles.
Cunane is set to leave NC State as one of the most decorated players in program history. She was named to the Associated Press All-America Second Team last season and the Third Team in 2019-20. Across 121 games played in her four-year career at NC State, Cunane averages 14.9 points (currently good for ninth in NC State history) and 7.9 rebounds, and she has shot above 52 percent from the field every season for a career average of 53.9 percent.
Cunane and the Wolfpack open 2022 NCAA Tournament action on Saturday, March 19 at home. NC State’s first-round matchup is set for a 2 p.m. start from Reynolds Coliseum that day, and the team will face the winner of Thursday’s play-in game between Longwood and Mount St. Mary’s