Syracuse Basketball: Kayla Alexander, Brittney Sykes make WNBA rosters

Former Syracuse basketball players Kayla Alexander, Brittney Sykes represent the Orange well in the WNBA.

When the WNBA’s 2020 season will begin is still unclear, assuming a term is played at all, but either way, Syracuse basketball has seen two of its former women’s stars arrive on pro rosters.

Former Syracuse women’s basketball stand-outs Kayla Alexander and Brittney Sykes have made the final rosters of their respective WNBA squads following the deadline earlier this week for teams to condense their active line-ups to have no more than 12 players, according to a press release posted to cuse.com.

Alexander and Sykes, the Orange’s only two players who have gotten selected in the first round of the WNBA Draft, both achieved All-American status on the Hill and have mightily contributed to the ‘Cuse women’s program.

Competing for the Orange from 2009 to 2013, Alexander is the team’s all-time leader in career points scored and rates third in total rebounds.

Sykes, a key member of the Syracuse crew that advanced to the 2016 Big Dance title duel versus Connecticut, has started more games than any other ‘Cuse women’s player and ranks third in career points.

Former Syracuse basketball players Kayla Alexander, Brittney Sykes are appearing with new WNBA groups.

At present on the pro level, the 6-foot-4 Alexander is entering her initial stanza with the Minnesota Lynx after playing in three contests for the Chicago Sky in 2019. A native of Milton, Ontario, the center was chosen by the San Antonio Silver Stars with the eighth overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft.

On February 10 of this year, the Los Angeles Sparks announced that they had acquired Sykes and center Marie Gülich from the Atlanta Dream in exchange for center Kalani Brown.

Selected with the seventh overall pick by the Dream in the 2017 WNBA Draft, the 5-foot-9 guard from Newark, N.J., has averaged about 11 points, four rebounds and two assists per encounter over three seasons and made the WNBA All-Rookie squad in 2017.

“Brittney is an athletic young guard who puts pressure on the defense, gets to the free-throw line and takes pride on the defensive end,” Sparks Managing Partner and Governor Eric Holoman said in a statement.

Sykes and Alexander will undoubtedly perform admirably when the WNBA commences its 2020 schedule!