One of the greatest to players in women’s basketball history has called it a career.
On Tuesday, legendary women’s basketball player Diana Taurasi announced that she is retiring after 20 years in the WNBA, all with the Phoenix Mercury. The initial announcement was made in an interview with TIME magazine, and later reported by USA TODAY Sports’ Nancy Armour.
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Over the course of her playing career, both collegiately and professionally, Taurasi built arguably one of the greatest resumes by a player ever as a three-time NCAA champion, three-time WNBA champion, two-time Naismith National Player of the Year, all-time WNBA leading scorer and six-time Olympic gold medalist.
In 20 seasons in the WNBA, Taurasi played in the second most games in WNBA history at 567, only 13 games behind her former Connecticut women’s basketball teammate Sue Bird.
But before Taurasi etched her greatness, here’s a look back at where it all started at UConn:
Where did Diana Taurasi go to college?
Taurasi played collegiately at UConn for Geno Auriemma from 2000 through 2004. There, she became one of the all-time great women’s college basketball players.
It didn’t take long for Taurasi to make her mark on the UConn program, which was becoming one of the sports’ biggest powerhouses in the early 2000s. She averaged 10.9 points and 3.3 assists in 33 games her freshman year.
Then came a stretch that etched Taurasi’s name in not only UConn history, but also women’s college basketball royalty.
Over the course of her final three seasons in Storrs, Connecticut, Taurasi helped lead the Huskies to three consecutive national titles from 2002 to 2004 — a feat that has been replicated by one team since: UConn, in 2013-2016.
Her best statistical season at UConn came during her junior season in 2003, when she averaged a career-high 17.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. She became the fourth player in women’s college basketball history to win back-to-back Naismith National Player of the Year awards in 2003 and 2004.
Taurasi also was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player in each of those seasons, as well.
As noted by her UConn profile page, Taurasi led the Huskies to a 139-8 overall record and a 22-1 record in the NCAA Tournament throughout her career. She finished her career as the first player in program history to finish with at least 2,000 points, 600 assists and 600 rebounds.
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Diana Taurasi stats, awards at UConn
Taurasi currently ranks No. 10 on UConn’s all-time leading scorer list with 2,156 total points per NCAA.com.
Here’s a year-by-year breakdown of Taurasi’s college stats at UConn:
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Career: 2,156 total points, 648 total assists, 628 total rebounds, 174 total steals, 147 total blocks and 46.9% shooting from the field (39.2% 3-point shooting)
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2000-01: 10.9 points per game, 3.3 assist per game, 3.2 rebounds per game and 44.4% shooting from the field (38.6% 3-point shooting)
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2001-02: 14.6 points per game, 5.3 assists per game, 4.1 rebounds per game and 49.4% shooting from the field (44% 3-point shooting)
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2002-03: 17.9 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, 4.4 assists per game and 47.6% shooting from the field (35% 3-point shooting)
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2003-04: 16.2 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, 4.0 rebounds per game and 45.6% shooting from the field (39% 3-point shooting)
Here’s a breakdown of all the awards that Taurasi won with the Huskies per UConn’s website and her WNBA profile:
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Two-time Naismith National Player of the Year (2002-2003 and 2003-2004)
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Two-time Final Four Most Outstanding Player (2003 and 2004)
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Two-time Big East Player of the Year (2002-2003 and 2003-2004)
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Three-time All-American (2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004)
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Three-time All-Big East First Team selection (2002, 2003 and 2004)
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2003 USBWA National Player of the Year
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2001 All-Big East Rookie Team selection
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2001 BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player
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2001 Kodak All-American and Associated Press Second Team All-American
Diana Taurasi WNBA draft selection
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Draft: 2004
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Round: 1
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Pick: No. 1
The Phoenix Mercury selected Taurasi with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 WNBA draft.
Taurasi went on to spend the entirety of her 20-year career with the Mercury, where she became the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer (10,646 points) and a three-time WNBA champion.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diana Taurasi college: UConn star’s stats, awards, titles with Huskies
