Elissa Cunane (; born September 25, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for BK Žabiny Brno of the Czech Women's Basketball League. She played college basketball at NC State. She was drafted by the Seattle Storm in the 2022 WNBA draft.
College career Freshman season Cunane came off the bench in her freshman season for majority of the season while also coming back from a foot fracture she suffered in high school. Despite being a bench player, she often played in late-game situations and was a key player towards the end of the Wolfpack's season, starting after an injury to regular starter Erika Cassell.
Sophomore season Cunane started 31 of the 32 games she appeared in, averaging a near double-double as she also earned third-team All-American honors. She also set a NC State single-season record for most made free throws with 159.
Junior season In her junior season, Cunane started all 23 games she appeared in, despite missing a month recovering from COVID-19. In her return, she put up 16 points and 6 rebounds in a 74–60 win against No. 1 ranked Louisville.
Senior season Cunane enters her senior season as one of the top prospects in the 2022 WNBA draft.
College statistics YearTeamGPPointsFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG2018–19NC State34464.549.333.7606.31.10.30.813.62019–20NC State32524.547.447.7919.61.10.31.116.42020–21NC State23374.533.387.8438.31.80.70.916.32021–22NC State36493.531.419.8357.61.30.70.913.7Career1251855.540.411.8027.91.30.50.914.8
National team career Cunane represented the United States at the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup, where they won gold. She was named to the AmeriCup's All-Star team after averaging 12.8 points and eight rebounds during the tournament.
Professional career Cunane was drafted by the Seattle Storm in the second round. She was cut after playing in two preseason games.
Minnesota Lynx Cunane signed a hardship contract with the Lynx on May 31, 2022. She made her WNBA debut on June 1, 2022, against the Atlanta Dream. On June 21, 2022, Cunane was released from her hardship contract. She appeared in 3 games for the Lynx.
Golden State Valkyries Cunane signed a training camp contract with Golden State Valkyries on February 6, 2025.
Coaching career Cunane was hired as an assistant coach at Providence prior to the start of the 2025–26 season under coach Erin Batth.
WNBA career statistics
Regular season
| align="left" | 2022 | align="left" | Minnesota | 3 || 0 || 3.3 || .500 || .000 || .000 || 1.7 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 0.7 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | 1 year, 1 team | 3 || 0 || 3.3 || .500 || .000 || .000 || 1.7 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 0.7
Czech league career statistics
Year Team GP PPG FG% 3P% FT% APG RPG SPG BPG 2022/23 BK Žabiny Brno 25 12.1 53.5 14.3 77.8 5.6 8.9 0.7 0.5 2023/24 BK Žabiny Brno 31 14.3 63.2 39.0 80.5 7.5 11.1 0.6 0.4 2024/25 BK Žabiny Brno 30 13.0 67.5 28.9 83.2 5.9 8.4° 0.8 0.6
Personal life Cunane is the daughter of Dan and Sharon Cunane and sister to older sibling William Paul. Dan is a former Greensboro police sergeant who suffered an injury in a bicycle accident when Elissa was two, initially paralyzing him from the neck down. He has since regained some use of his lower body and arms, but still uses a wheelchair to get around.
References
External links
NC State Wolfpack bio USA Basketball bio