Cecilia Zandalasini
![]() Zandalasini in 2019 | |
No. n/a – Galatasaray | |
---|---|
Position | Small forward |
League | WNBA Turkish Super League EuroCup Women |
Personal information | |
Born | Broni, Italy | 16 March 1996
Nationality | Italian |
Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
Career information | |
Playing career | 2010–present |
Career history | |
2013–2014 | Geas Basket |
2014–2018 | PF Schio |
2017–2018 | Minnesota Lynx |
2018–2021 | Fenerbahçe |
2021–2024 | Virtus Bologna |
2024–present | Minnesota Lynx |
2024–present | Galatasaray |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Cecilia Zandalasini (Italian: [tʃeˈtʃiːlja ddzandalaˈziːni]; born 16 March 1996) is an Italian basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Galatasaray of the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League and the Italian national team.[1] She was the MVP of 2016 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women.
Early life
[edit]Zandalasini was born on 16 March 1996 in Broni, Italy. She is the daughter of Roberto Zandalasini and Paola Lombardi.[2] While playing with Geas Basket, she won six Italian youth club championships.[2]
Professional career
[edit]Geas Basket (2013–14)
[edit]At the age of 17, Zandalasini played as a guard under Geas Basket for the 2013–14 season. She led the team in points with a total of 314 across 20 games (15.7 PPG).[3]
PF Schio (2014–2018)
[edit]Zandalasini has played with PF Schio since 2014. In Zandalasini's third season with the team in 2016–17, the team won the Coppa Italia and reached the Serie A1 playoff finals. The team continued to the EuroLeague postseason, where Zandalasini had a team high 13.5 PPG.
EuroBasket
[edit]At EuroBasket Women 2017 she averaged 19.0 points (2nd in event) and 9.6 rebounds (3rd in event)[4] and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Jeff Taylor of FIBA.com called her performance "the greatest FIBA EuroBasket Women debut of all time".[5]
Minnesota Lynx (2017–2018)
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Cecilia_Zandalasini_%289%29_dribbles_the_ball_behind_her_as_she%27s_guarded_by_Myisha_Hines-Allen_%282%29.jpg/220px-Cecilia_Zandalasini_%289%29_dribbles_the_ball_behind_her_as_she%27s_guarded_by_Myisha_Hines-Allen_%282%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Cecilia_Zandalasini_%2830%29_on_the_bench_during_a_timeout_in_the_Lynx_vs_Aces_game_%28head_shot%29.jpg/220px-Cecilia_Zandalasini_%2830%29_on_the_bench_during_a_timeout_in_the_Lynx_vs_Aces_game_%28head_shot%29.jpg)
With only three games left in their 2017 regular season, the Minnesota Lynx signed Zandalasini as an unrestricted free agent on 28 August 2017.[6] Zandalasini was only able to play 18:37 of the remainder of the regular season and 11 during the playoffs, which the Lynx won.[2]
On 7 February 2018 it was announced that the Lynx would re-sign Zandalasini for the 2018 season.[7] Zandalasini became a breakout player during the season after a buzzer-beating play against the New York Liberty in their 16 June game.[8] She has subsequently seen more minutes of play, establishing herself as a fit for the sixth woman role.[9][10]
Zandalasini did not play with the Lynx during their 2019 season due to her international team commitments and an ankle injury.[11]
On 29 February 2020 the Lynx announced they would re-sign Zandalasini for the 2020 season in a non-disclosed deal. However she did not play any games for the Lynx during the shortened 2020 season.[12][13][14]
Fenerbahçe (2018–2021)
[edit]On 4 July 2018 she had signed a two-year deal with the Turkish women's basketball club, Fenerbahçe.[15]
Virtus Bologna (2021–2024)
[edit]On 5 May 2021 Zandalasini signed a two-year deal with the Italian women's basketball club Virtus Bologna.[16] Despite good premises, in November 2021 the team was eliminated in the group stage of the EuroCup.[17] On 19 April 2022, during the national semi-finals against Reyer Venezia, Lino Lardo was fired and his assistant Angela Gianolla became the new head coach.[18] The team ousted Reyer Venezia by 2–1 in the national semi-finals, reaching the finals for the first time in its history and qualifying for the EuroLeague Women. However, Virtus was defeated 3–1 by Famila Schio.[19]
In the following season, Virtus played for the first time in the EuroLeague Women, but it was ousted in the regular season with a winning record of 5–9.[20] The club ended the Italian championship's season at the first place but, once again, it lost the national finals against Famila Schio by 2–0.[21]
Galatasaray (2024–present)
[edit]On July 24, 2024, she signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League (TKBL).[22]
WNBA career statistics
[edit]GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
† | Denotes seasons in which Zandalasini won a WNBA championship |
Regular season
[edit]Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017† | Minnesota | 3 | 0 | 6.3 | .250 | .000 | .000 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
2018 | Minnesota | 29 | 6 | 16.5 | .409 | .383 | .840 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 5.7 |
Career | 2 years, 1 team | 32 | 6 | 15.5 | .405 | .383 | .840 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5.3 |
Playoffs
[edit]Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017† | Minnesota | 5 | 0 | 2.2 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
2018 | Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 25.0 | .250 | .333 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
Career | 2 years, 1 team | 6 | 1 | 6.0 | .400 | .333 | .000 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
References
[edit]- ^ "archive.fiba.com: Players". archive.fiba.com.
- ^ a b c "WNBA Player Profile". WNBA.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- ^ "A.S.D. Geas Basket — 2014". playbasket.it. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ "Cecilia ZANDALASINI at the FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017". FIBA.basketball.
- ^ Taylor, Jeff (June 25, 2017). "Italy and Zandalasini win more fans after painful loss". FIBA.basketball.
- ^ Youngblood, Kent (August 28, 2017). "Lynx sign Italian league standout Cecilia Zandalasini". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ "Lynx Re-Sign Cecilia Zandalasini, Add Lynetta Kizer And Endy Miyem". Minnesota Lynx. February 7, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ Mizutani, Dane (June 18, 2018). "Italian import Cecilia Zandalasini proving to be Lynx's best kept secret". Pioneer Press. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ Sinker, Howard (June 25, 2018). "Lynx battle in weekend of sharp elbows on social media". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ Martin, Sloane (June 19, 2018). "With the Lynx in need of a spark, Cecilia Zandalasini stepping into the spotlight". The Athletic. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ Youngblood, Kent (July 31, 2019). "Seimone Augustus near return, but Cecilia Zandalasini won't play for Lynx". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ^ Youngblood, Kent (March 2, 2020). "Lynx re-sign Cecilia Zandalasini". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ^ "Lynx Re-Sign Forward Cecilia Zandalasini". Minnesota Lynx. February 29, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ^ Hansen, Mitchell (February 29, 2020). "Minnesota Lynx Re-Sign Forward Cecilia Zandalasini". Zone Coverage. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ^ Cicchinè, Giulia (July 4, 2018). "Zandalasini al Fenerbahce: l'azzurra ora in WNBA, giocherà in Turchia per vincere l'Eurolega". Eurosport (in Italian). Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ^ La Virtus Bologna ufficializza Cecilia Zandalasini: Felice di tornare e vestire questa maglia, Sportando
- ^ EuroCup Women – Carolo sbanca Bologna, Virtus eliminata, Basket Inside
- ^ Virtus Bologna femminile, decisione a sopresa: Lino Lardo non è più il capo allenatore, BolognaToday
- ^ Serie A1 femminile, il Famila Schio è Campione d'Italia: battuta la Virtus Bologna 69–84, Bologna Today
- ^ EuroLeague Women, il percorso della Virtus Bologna si chiude con l'USK Praga. BolognaToday
- ^ Basket femminile, Virtus battuta, Schio è campione d'Italia. la Repubblica
- ^ "Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring'e hoş geldin Cecilia Zandalasini!". Galatasaray S.K. July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- 1996 births
- Living people
- Fenerbahçe women's basketball players
- Italian expatriate basketball people in Turkey
- Italian expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Italian women's basketball players
- Minnesota Lynx players
- People from Broni
- Small forwards
- Sportspeople from the Province of Pavia
- Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players
- Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players