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Cierra Dillard

Cierra Dillard
No. 24 – Sporting Alexandria
PositionGuard
LeagueEgyptian Basketball Premier League
Personal information
Born (1996-05-08) May 8, 1996 (age 28)
Rochester, New York
NationalityAmerican / Senegalese
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Career information
High schoolGates Chili
(Rochester, New York)
College
WNBA draft2019: 2nd round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Minnesota Lynx
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2020Stadium Casablanca
2021–presentSporting Alexandria
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
AfroBasket
Silver medal – second place 2023 Rwanda

Cierra Janay Dillard (born May 8, 1996) is an American-Senegalese professional basketball player who currently plays for Alexandria Sporting Club.

College career

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Dillard attended Gates Chili High School in Rochester, New York. She was named the All-Greater Rochester Girls Basketball Player of the Decade 2010–19.[1]

She later attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst for two years, before transferring to the University at Buffalo.[2][3][4] At both universities, she played on the school's respective women's basketball teams. While playing at Buffalo, Dillard helped the Bulls to back-to-back NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament appearances in 2018 and 2019,[5][6] including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2018.

Professional career

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Dillard was selected by the Minnesota Lynx in the second round of the 2019 WNBA draft.[7] The Lynx waived her in May but shortly later she was claimed of waivers by the Los Angeles Sparks. After appearing in one preseason game for the Sparks, she was once again waived on May 18.[8]

In 2022, Dillard guided Alexandria Sporting Club to the 2022 FIBA Africa Women's Champions Cup title, scoring a team-high 21 points in the finals.[9] The following season, Sporting repeated as African champions and Dillard was named MVP of the 2023 Africa Women's Basketball League.[10] Dillard averaged 23 points per game on 53.9% shooting from the field.[11]

Personal

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In 2023, Dillard became Senegalese by presidential decree.[12] She joined the Senegal national team shortly after.[13]

Career statistics

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College

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Source[14]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 UMass 30 319 35.7% 32.4% 70.0% 3.1 2.5 1.5 0.1 10.6
2015–16 UMass 30 464 41.8% 32.9% 66.7% 3.3 2.7 2.0 0.0 15.5
2017–18 Buffalo 35 566 39.6% 34.6% 80.1% 4.1 5.2 3.0 0.1 16.2
2018–19 Buffalo 34 856 38.6% 34.1% 81.2% 4.9 5.7 2.9 0.2 25.2
Career 129 2205 39.1% 33.8% 76.2% 3.9 4.1 2.4 0.1 17.1

References

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  1. ^ Bradley, Steve. "AGR Girls Basketball Player of the Decade: Cierra Dillard works her way to the top". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  2. ^ Wolf, Jason (March 20, 2019). "Cierra Dillard's impact at UB extends beyond MAC title, NCAA Tournament". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  3. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (January 14, 2019). "Buffalo's Cierra Dillard is espnW's player of the week". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  4. ^ D'Arcangelo, Lyndsey (March 7, 2019). "As talk of the WNBA Draft swirls around her, Cierra Dillard is relishing her final moments in Buffalo". The Athletic. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  5. ^ Fulkerson, Vickie (March 24, 2019). "Buffalo's Cierra Dillard made an impact on many, including Auriemma". The Day. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  6. ^ Stacy, Kelli (March 24, 2019). "UConn women prepare to take on Buffalo, Cierra Dillard in the second round of the NCAA Tournament". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  7. ^ Maiorana, Sal (April 10, 2019). "Cierra Dillard's WNBA dream now a reality as she was drafted by Minnesota Lynx". Democrat and Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  8. ^ Rachel Lenzi (18 May 2019). "Former UB standout Cierra Dillard parts ways with WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks". Buffalo News. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Sporting Alexandria crowned 2022 Africa Champions Cup Women winners". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  10. ^ "MVP Dillard leads 2023 AWBL All-Star team". FIBA.basketball. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  11. ^ "Cierra Dillard opens up on AWBL title, MVP award". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  12. ^ "MACKY NATURALISE CIERRA JANAY DILLARD". SenePlus (in French). 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  13. ^ "Cierra Janay DILLARD at the FIBA Women's AfroBasket 2023". FIBA.basketball (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  14. ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
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