KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A trio of former Lady Vols are celebrating a 2021 WNBA title. Players Candace Parker and Diamond DeShields and assistant coach Tonya Edwards contributed to the No. 6 seed Chicago Sky’s 3-1 series win over No. 5 seed Phoenix on Sunday afternoon at Wintrust Arena in the Windy City.
The Sky previously defeated No. 7 seed Dallas in the first round, No. 3 Minnesota in the second round and No. 1 Connecticut in the semifinals to advance to the WNBA Finals ’21 presented by Google.
Parker, who played her high school ball at suburban Naperville Central before going on to a stellar career at the University of Tennessee, moved from the Los Angeles Sparks to the hometown Sky during the offseason after spending the first 13 years of her professional career on the West Coast and winning a 2016 title there and notching a runner-up showing in 2017.
The 6-foot-4 forward turned in 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four steals in game four to close out the Mercury with an 80-74 come-from-behind triumph. DeShields added two points and two rebounds in 10 minutes of duty for the Sky, who trailed by as many as 14 in the contest and were down 72-65 with 4:42 to go.
Edwards, who joined head coach James Wade’s staff in March, is enjoying her second WNBA title as an assistant. She also won her first WNBA crown with Parker while the two were with Los Angeles in 2016.
Parker played three seasons at Tennessee from 2005-2008, winning NCAA titles in the final two of those and being named Final Four Most Outstanding Player after those victories. DeShields was at UT from 2015-17, while Edwards starred for the Lady Vols from 1986-90, helping the Big Orange win their first two national championships in 1987 and 1989 and claiming Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors in 1987 as a freshman.
Allie Quigley, who played collegiately at DePaul and was coached by current Lady Vol assistant Samantha Williams while she was an assistant with the Blue Demons, led Chicago with 26 points.
- This marks the 12th time there has been a Tennessee player on the winning team in the WNBA Finals
- Parker claimed her second WNBA title (2016, 2021) and Diamond DeShields won her first (2021)
- DeShields became the ninth different Lady Vol to play on a WNBA championship team
- Chicago assistant coach Tonya Edwards won her second title, also winning one with Parker in Los Angeles in 2016
- This was the 18th time in 25 seasons a Lady Vol has played in the WNBA Finals
- Thirteen different Lady Vols have gone to the WNBA Finals, tallying 21 total appearances
-UT Athletics
