TicketsCINCINNATI – In three days, former University of Cincinnati coaches, players and staff will gather in Fifth Third Arena as we celebrate 50 years of Bearcats women's basketball.
As we continue to recognize and honor those who have had a positive impact on the program, let's take a look at the three players who went on to have careers in the WNBA.
MADINAH SLAISE
Madinah Slaise played for the Bearcats from 1996-00. She currently ranks as the program's fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,849 career points, holds the UC single-season record for both free throws made (193) and attempted (242) and also holds the top spot for career free throws made (503) and attempted (676).
In 2000, Slaise was selected by the Detroit Shock in the second round (No. 28 Overall) of the WNBA Draft. She was the first player in UC women's basketball history to be drafted into the WNBA. Slaise played one season with the Shock before taking her career to Europe. She played in France, Switzerland and Isreal before deciding to join the U.S. Army following the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks. She served as an Enlisted Trauma Medic for three years before accepting a commission with the United States Air Force, where she retired as a Major in 2018.
Slaise was inducted into the James P. Kelley UC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016 and will forever be known as the first WNBA draft pick to come out of the program.
AMBER STOCKS
Amber Stocks played for the Bearcats from 1995-1999. She was a four-time Bearcat Scholar honoree, three-time Defensive Player Award recipient and helped lead the Bearcats to a Conference USA Championship. At the time that she finished her career, she was in the top-five rankings in the Bearcats' record books for multiple categories, including games played and three-point shots made.
Stocks was also an all-conference track athlete at UC, earning two letters in track and field and setting two school records. Following her UC career, she pursued collegiate coaching, serving as a graduate assistant and the director of operations under legendary head coach Pat Summitt at the University of Tennessee from 2000-02 before serving as an assistant coach on Kevin McGuff's Xavier staff for seven years (2002-09).
Following her time at Xavier, she spent time as a color analyst on ESPN 3, the BIG EAST Digital Network and Fox Sports covering women's basketball. She also worked as the Director and Head Coach for the Tucson HEAT Basketball Association in Arizona from 2009-13.
In 2015, she moved into the WNBA when she accepted an assistant position with the Los Angeles Sparks. During her time with the Sparks, Stocks helped turn around a franchise that went 14-20 in 2015 to 26-8 in 2016. Stocks was key in scouting and game preparation, spurring the Sparks' run to be the 2016 WNBA Champions. In addition to her essential role in strategy preparation, Stocks was also responsible for coaching the LA frontcourt, which included the 2016 WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike, the 2016 6th Woman of the Year Jantel Lavender and the 2016 WNBA Finals MVP Candace Parker.
Sparks was named the head coach and general manager of the Sky in 2017. In her first season, the Sky set a single season record with the most team assists in WNBA history and finished the season ranked first in the league in team assists and three-point field goal percentage. She guided point guard Courtney Vandersloot to set a WNBA record with the highest single-season assist average in WNBA history and produced two WNBA All-Stars in the same season for the first time in franchise history.
K.B. SHARP
K.B. Sharp played for UC from 1999-03 where she served as a team captain and was named UC's Most Outstanding Player multiple years. During her senior season, she averaged 13.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game while shooting 82 percent from the free-throw line and earned All-Conference USA first-team honors for her performance. She currently sits in the top spots of the record books for minutes played in a season (1,214), minutes played in her career (4,339), single-season assists (205) and career assists (623). She is also No. 20 in the record book for career points with 1,164.
In 2003, Sharp was selected in the second round (26th overall) by the New York Liberty in the WNBA Draft. During her rookie season, she played in 30 games and scored a career-high 14 points against the Indiana Fever.
Sharp played two seasons with the Liberty before signing as a free agent with the Indiana Fever in 2006 and then going on to play for the Chicago Sky. In her six-year WNBA career, Sharp averaged 7.1 points and 3.6 assists per game and shot 78.6 percent on free throws.
Sharp was also selected to the WNBA Select team, which competed in international competition. She played in St. Petersburg, Russia from 2003-04, where she helped lead the squad to the EuroCup Championship.
Sharp was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 for her accomplishments in the sport.
50 YEARS CELEBRATION
Saturday, February 19, the athletics department will host a celebration event tied in with the Bearcats' women's basketball game against the ECU Pirates at 2 p.m. Former players, coaches, and staff will join us in Cincinnati to remember and honor the successes of the past and present and look ahead to the future.
For tickets to the game, you can call the ticket office at 1-877-CATS-TIX or visit the website here.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati women's basketball, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati WBB (@GoBearcatsWBB) and Coach Michelle Clark-Heard (@Coachheard) on Twitter. You can also follow the team on Facebook and Instagram.
As we continue to recognize and honor those who have had a positive impact on the program, let's take a look at the three players who went on to have careers in the WNBA.
MADINAH SLAISE
Madinah Slaise played for the Bearcats from 1996-00. She currently ranks as the program's fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,849 career points, holds the UC single-season record for both free throws made (193) and attempted (242) and also holds the top spot for career free throws made (503) and attempted (676).
In 2000, Slaise was selected by the Detroit Shock in the second round (No. 28 Overall) of the WNBA Draft. She was the first player in UC women's basketball history to be drafted into the WNBA. Slaise played one season with the Shock before taking her career to Europe. She played in France, Switzerland and Isreal before deciding to join the U.S. Army following the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks. She served as an Enlisted Trauma Medic for three years before accepting a commission with the United States Air Force, where she retired as a Major in 2018.
Slaise was inducted into the James P. Kelley UC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016 and will forever be known as the first WNBA draft pick to come out of the program.
AMBER STOCKS
Amber Stocks played for the Bearcats from 1995-1999. She was a four-time Bearcat Scholar honoree, three-time Defensive Player Award recipient and helped lead the Bearcats to a Conference USA Championship. At the time that she finished her career, she was in the top-five rankings in the Bearcats' record books for multiple categories, including games played and three-point shots made.
Stocks was also an all-conference track athlete at UC, earning two letters in track and field and setting two school records. Following her UC career, she pursued collegiate coaching, serving as a graduate assistant and the director of operations under legendary head coach Pat Summitt at the University of Tennessee from 2000-02 before serving as an assistant coach on Kevin McGuff's Xavier staff for seven years (2002-09).
Following her time at Xavier, she spent time as a color analyst on ESPN 3, the BIG EAST Digital Network and Fox Sports covering women's basketball. She also worked as the Director and Head Coach for the Tucson HEAT Basketball Association in Arizona from 2009-13.
In 2015, she moved into the WNBA when she accepted an assistant position with the Los Angeles Sparks. During her time with the Sparks, Stocks helped turn around a franchise that went 14-20 in 2015 to 26-8 in 2016. Stocks was key in scouting and game preparation, spurring the Sparks' run to be the 2016 WNBA Champions. In addition to her essential role in strategy preparation, Stocks was also responsible for coaching the LA frontcourt, which included the 2016 WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike, the 2016 6th Woman of the Year Jantel Lavender and the 2016 WNBA Finals MVP Candace Parker.
Sparks was named the head coach and general manager of the Sky in 2017. In her first season, the Sky set a single season record with the most team assists in WNBA history and finished the season ranked first in the league in team assists and three-point field goal percentage. She guided point guard Courtney Vandersloot to set a WNBA record with the highest single-season assist average in WNBA history and produced two WNBA All-Stars in the same season for the first time in franchise history.
K.B. SHARP
K.B. Sharp played for UC from 1999-03 where she served as a team captain and was named UC's Most Outstanding Player multiple years. During her senior season, she averaged 13.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game while shooting 82 percent from the free-throw line and earned All-Conference USA first-team honors for her performance. She currently sits in the top spots of the record books for minutes played in a season (1,214), minutes played in her career (4,339), single-season assists (205) and career assists (623). She is also No. 20 in the record book for career points with 1,164.
In 2003, Sharp was selected in the second round (26th overall) by the New York Liberty in the WNBA Draft. During her rookie season, she played in 30 games and scored a career-high 14 points against the Indiana Fever.
Sharp played two seasons with the Liberty before signing as a free agent with the Indiana Fever in 2006 and then going on to play for the Chicago Sky. In her six-year WNBA career, Sharp averaged 7.1 points and 3.6 assists per game and shot 78.6 percent on free throws.
Sharp was also selected to the WNBA Select team, which competed in international competition. She played in St. Petersburg, Russia from 2003-04, where she helped lead the squad to the EuroCup Championship.
Sharp was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 for her accomplishments in the sport.
50 YEARS CELEBRATION
Saturday, February 19, the athletics department will host a celebration event tied in with the Bearcats' women's basketball game against the ECU Pirates at 2 p.m. Former players, coaches, and staff will join us in Cincinnati to remember and honor the successes of the past and present and look ahead to the future.
For tickets to the game, you can call the ticket office at 1-877-CATS-TIX or visit the website here.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati women's basketball, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati WBB (@GoBearcatsWBB) and Coach Michelle Clark-Heard (@Coachheard) on Twitter. You can also follow the team on Facebook and Instagram.