Pro Orange: Alexander, Sykes Make Final WNBA Rosters
5/28/2020 12:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Former Syracuse women's basketball standouts Kayla Alexander and Brittney Sykes made the rosters of their respective WNBA teams after Tuesday's deadline required teams to have no more than 12 players on their active roster for the 2020 season.
Alexander enters her first season with the Minnesota Lynx after appearing in three games for the Chicago Sky in 2019. The 6-foot-4 center spent a season with the Indiana Fever the year prior, playing in 30 games and averaging 2.7 points per contest.Â
The Milton, Ontario native was originally selected by the San Antonio Silver Stars with the eighth overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft. Alexander spent five seasons with the Silver Stars including the 2016 season where she established career standards in points (8.0), rebounds (4.5) and minutes (19.5) per game.Â
Sykes joins the Los Angeles Sparks after being acquired in a trade from the Atlanta Dream on February 10. The 5-foot-9 guard started 27 games for Atlanta during the 2019 season and was the Dream's second-leading scorer with 10.2 points per game. Selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft, Sykes averaged 11.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest across three seasons with Atlanta.
Alexander and Sykes, both All-Americans at Syracuse, made tremendous impacts for the Orange and during their time on the hill. Starring for the Orange from 2009 to 2013, Alexander remains the program's all-time leader in career points (2,024) and career field goals made (736) while also ranking third in career rebounds (970). While at Syracuse, Alexander's teams never failed to make a postseason tournament, culminating in an NCAA Tournament-berth in 2013.Â
Sykes was a vital member of the Syracuse squad that made the 2016 NCAA Tournament Championship Game, placing third on the team in points (10.3), rebounds (5.1) and assists (1.6) per game. The Newark, New Jersey-native has started more games than any Orange player (137) and ranks third in both career points (1,846) and career field goals made (670) in program history.
