Release: Elissa Cunane named All American by U.S. Basketball Writers Association

INDIANAPOLIS – Junior center Elissa Cunane of the third-ranked NC State women's basketball team was honored as a Second Team All-American by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Friday afternoon.

Cunane joins Andrea Stinson (1989, 1990, 1991) as the only two players in program history to be honored as a USBWA All-American multiple times in their careers after she was featured on the Third Team in 2020. The honor marks the third All-America citation of the season for the Summerfield, N.C., native, as she has already been named to the ESPN First Team and the Associated Press Second Team.

Cunane was also named 2021 ACC Tournament MVP and First Team All-ACC. In addition, she was one of five finalists for the Lisa Leslie Award that recognizes the top center in women's NCAA Division I basketball and was one of 15 players named to the Women's National Ballot for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award that honors the national player of the year.

Cunane ended her 2020-21 campaign with averages of 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 53.3 percent shooting (130-of-244), 84.3 percent from the charity stripe (102-of-121) and 1.8 assists per game. Her field-goal percentage is ranked 26th nationally.

She was the leading scorer for a Wolfpack squad that finished the year 22-3 and made its third-straight Sweet 16 appearance. Cunane helped lead NC State to multiple program firsts, including a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, two road victories over the nation's top-ranked teams and back-to-back ACC Tournament titles.

Cunane scored in double figures in all but one game she played in this season, with six 20+ point outings and seven double-doubles. During ACC Tournament action, she averaged 23.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in three Wolfpack victories.

In her Wolfpack career, Cunane has compiled 1,362 points and 712 rebounds.