Shanna Crossley

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Shanna Crossley
Position Shooting Guard
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg)
Born September 7, 1983 (1983-09-07) (age 24)
College University of Tennessee
Draft 16th overall, 2006
San Antonio Silver Stars
Pro career 2006–present

Shanna Annette Crossley (nee Shanna Zolman, born September 7, 1983) is a professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the San Antonio Silver Stars. She attended college at the University of Tennessee and graduated in 2006 with a degree in Broadcasting. Following her collegiate career, she was selected 16th overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Contents

[edit] Vital Statistics

[edit] High School

Shanna played at Wawasee High School in Syracuse, Indiana. In her high school career she scored a record 3,085 points, passing former Purdue Guard Stephanie White-McCarty (2,869) as most in Indiana basketball history. She led the state in scoring each of her 4 years at Wawasee High School, while posting a career scoring average of 33.2 points per game. She holds the national record in three categories: all-time consecutive free throws (70), career free-throw percentage (93.5%), and season free-throw percentage (95.4%). Her career totals for high school include 3,085 points, 730 rebounds, 453 steals and 430 assists in 93 games.

[edit] College

She holds the NCAA single season (.957 in 2003-04) and career (.916) free throw percentage records. She broke several Lady Vol records during her 4 years, including Single Game 3-pointers (7), Single Season 3-Pointers (103), Career 3-Pointers (266), Career 3-Point Percentage (.425), Single Season Free Throw Percentage (.957), and Career Free Throw Percentage (.916). She is the 9th highest scorer in Tennessee Lady Vol history (1,806).

[edit] WNBA

Shanna was selected by the San Antonio Silver Stars as the second pick of the second round, the 16th pick overall in the WNBA draft. She finished up a solid rookie season averaging 6.6 points per game while playing 16.1 minutes per game. She appeared in all 34 games and was ranked 13th in the WNBA in 3 Point Percentage (.378). She scored a career high 18 points against the Phoenix Mercury on 8/12/06. The San Antonio Silver Stars finished 13-21 on the season, missing the playoffs.

During the offseason, Shanna married her college sweetheart, former University of Tennessee Fullback Andrew David Crossley (b. August 4, 1980), on October 14, 2006, and changed her last name to Crossley.

Crossley began her second season with the Silver Stars red hot, averaging over 11 ppg during the first 8 games of the season. She cooled down a bit, but continued to work on her defense and ball handling. After forward Erin Buescher went down with a season-ending injury, Crossley became the Star's 6th Woman off the bench. She provided instant offense and a spark off the bench. On August 2, 2007, Crossley scored a career high 21 points, including a franchise record 7 three pointers, in a loss to the Phoenix Mercury. She followed that up with a new career high of 26 points, including 6 three pointers, in a victory against the Los Angeles Sparks on August 4, 2007. During a 5 game stretch from Aug. 2- Aug. 11, she was averaging 19.6 ppg while shooting 47.8% from 3-point range. She finished the season averaging 9.2 ppg in only 16.1 minutes per game, the same from her roookie year. She also had three 20+ point games and was tied for second (with teammate Becky Hammon) with 74 three pointers made while shooting 40.9% from 3-point range.

On August 30, 2007, Crossley played a key role in the waning moments of the Phoenix Mercury's controversial victory over the Silver Stars in Game 1 of the WNBA Western Conference Finals. After Becky Hammon hit a three-point shot to tie the game with approximately three seconds left in regulation, Phoenix attempted to drive for a final basket. Phoenix guard Cappie Pondexter fell to the floor in the backcourt under defensive pressure from Crossley. Crossley was called for a reach-in foul with 2.1 seconds remaining, and in turn Pondexter made two free throws and Phoenix won the game, 102-100. ESPN announcers and many fans questioned the call, because video footage arguably indicated that Pondexter had merely slipped and Crossley had committed no foul. Other fans felt the call was appropriate. The head official reviewed the call to determine how much time remained on the clock, but WNBA rules do not permit instant replay review of whether a foul was committed. At the post game press conference, Hammon stated that Crossley did nothing wrong and that the officials made a mistake. During Game 2, Crossley came out of the gate hot, scoring 17 first half points including 5 three pointers. She finished the game with 20 points, including 6 three pointers, as the Silver Stars were defeated 98-92.

[edit] Trivia

  • Shanna wore a No. 1 jersey during most of her junior year in honor of her teammate and best friend, Sidney Spencer, who missed the majority of the season after tearing her ACL.
  • Shanna met her future husband, Andrew, at an FCA meeting.

[edit] External links

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