“I just want to let you know I’m going to be playing in the WNBA,” 10-year-old Kelsey Plum said to her mom a year after she saw Diana Taurasi for the first time in an infamous rivalry game between UConn and Tennessee on TV. It was that moment that brewed a newfound interest in the game in Plum and she started playing. She held her promise as today she is one of the most successful players in the WNBA and has achieved several milestones like being the 2x WNBA champion, 3x WNBA All-Star, and WNBA All-Star Game MVP, to name a few.

At that time, her interest was so intense that she would tag along with her dad and attend the pick-up games. There she was treated differently because of her young age, rather her father used to tell the guys to treat her like he didn’t know her. And he would also turn to Plum and say, “If you don’t make shots, we’re going home early.” That’s how her journey with basketball started. After she grew up, she established a record-setting career in college basketball. So, let’s take a trip back in time when Kelsey Plum played for the Washington Huskies.

Kelsey Plum’s college basketball career

After leading the USA Basketball to a gold medal at the U19 Championship in Lithuania, Kelsey Plum didn’t go home, rather flew directly to Seattle where her teammate at the University of Washington waiting for Plum at the airport to take her to the campus. Before fall came, Plum had already familiarized with the university and her teammates.

Being before time reflected her eagerness to get straight to business. This caught the attention of her head coach Mike Neighbors, who noticed the spark in Plum waiting to unravel. As a result, he named her, the freshman, as the team’s captain even before the season kicked off.

This decision was a rarity in its own right. As a freshman, Plum averaged 21 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game in the regular season. Moreover, she set multiple program records as a freshman, including her 695 points, the most ever scored by a freshman, a single game-high 38 points, etc. As a result, she was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.

As a sophomore, she scored 22.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. She started the season with a bang, setting a new school scoring record of 45 points. This performance increased her chances of winning the Player of the Year honor, hence, she was named to the ‘Wade Watch’ list, along with 25 other players. Similarly, she was included in the list of 30 players with a chance to win the Wooden Award. That season, she guided the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament. However, the squad fell against Miami 86-80.

Plum received national and conference Player of the Week honors in January 2017. In the regular season, she averaged 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. She topped the Pac-12 in scoring and was rated fourth overall. She not only dominated but also helped the Huskies reach the NCAA Tournament Final Four. However, the Syracuse Orange beat them 80-59.

Then came Plum’s senior season, which broke records.

Plum’s grand senior year at Washington

Kelsey Plum averaged 31.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game as a senior at Washington, breaking Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike’s NCAA all-time top scorer record in a win over Boise State. She subsequently became the Pac-12’s first and 12th NCAA Division I women’s basketball player to surpass 3000 career points.

She made history with her record-breaking scoring, including a 57-point performance in the Huskies’ win over Utah in the final regular season game, which broke a Pac-12 record. Plum eclipsed Jackie Stiles’ previous 3393-point mark in the fourth quarter, breaking the NCAA Division I women’s basketball career scoring record.

That season, the Huskies finished 29-6 overall and 15-3 in the Pac-12. This propelled the club to another national title run in the postseason. However, they were beaten by Mississippi State.

Kelsey Plum finished her four years of collegiate basketball with 3527 points, 596 rebounds, 523 assists, 198 steals, and 30 blocks. Her charismatic scoring earned her numerous honors, including Associated Press All-American First Team status, which only a few women’s college basketball players receive.

She finished her senior season with 1109 points, setting an NCAA women’s basketball single-season record. Similarly, she shattered the NCAA career free throw record with 912 points from the line. Furthermore, she became the first Washington Husky to earn the AP Player of the Year title, along with the Nancy Lieberman and Dawn Staley trophies, as the best point guard in women’s basketball, capping off an incredible collegiate basketball career.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger