Tully Bevilaqua
Encyclopedia
Tully Louise Bevilaqua (née Crook on 19 July 1972 in Merredin, Western Australia
) is an Australia
n professional women's basketball
player. She currently plays for the San Antonio Silver Stars
in the WNBA
and the West Coast Waves in Australia's WNBL
.
The 5'7" Bevilaqua's play style is energetic and disruptive, so much so that she is usually in the top 10 in steal
s. In the 2005 regular season, she had more steals per turnover than any other player.
by a WNBA team.
She was signed by the Cleveland Rockers
as a free agent
before the 1998 season began, but played only 12 regular-season games for them before being waived by the team on July 1998.
In 2000, she signed a free agent contract with the Portland Fire
and played with them for three seasons until the franchise folded after the 2002 season.
In 2003, she signed another contract with the Seattle Storm
, and played two seasons for them, capping the 2004 season when the Storm won the WNBA Championship
, defeating the Connecticut Sun
, two games to one.
In 2005, she signed with the Indiana Fever
, and led them to a #2 seed in the playoffs, where they swept the New York Liberty
in two games, but in turn were swept by the Connecticut Sun
in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Despite Bevilaqua's WNBA success, she failed to make the Australian national team until 2006 at the age of 34, when she helped lead the Opals to the gold medal in the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women
.
On 27 August 2007, Bevilaqua played a key scoring, defensive, and leadership role in the greatest comeback in WNBA history when the Indiana Fever overcame a 22 point first half deficit to win the deciding game three of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Connecticut Sun. Later that week on 31 August 2007 Tully was awarded the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award
from the WNBA.
Bevilaqua is one of only four WNBA players to record at least 800 career assists and 500 career steals.
championship team. In the championship series, the Connecticut Sun
won the first game of a three-game series. Then, before sold-out crowds at Seattle's Key Arena, Bevilaqua and the Storm won the second and third games to take the crown as champion. Bevilaqua's role in the series was backup point guard to Sue Bird and Betty Lennox, but she contributed in every phase of the game—scoring, rebounding, and playing the tenacious defense that has become her trademark on the Indiana Fever
.
Though listed as a backup guard, in the course of the Storm's 2004 championship run Bevilaqua played unusually long minutes. This was most evident in the second game against the Minnesota Lynx
. Sue Bird was injured early in the game, and WNBA Finals MVP Betty Lennox quickly got into foul trouble. Storm coach Anne Donovan sent Bevilaqua in to run the offense, and she played 27 minutes to carry the team to victory. The Seattle crowd chanted her name repeatedly during the game.
In the 2009 offseason, Tully is staying in Indiana, the home of the WNBA's Indiana Fever.
as a youth.
Her hobbies include: karaoke singing
, golf
ing, tennis
, cricket
, and reading Patricia Cornwell
's novels.
Bevilaqua's height is listed at 5'7" (about 170 cm) in the WNBA but only 164 cm (about 5'4.5") in the WNBL.
Bevilaqua wrote a regular column in the Canberra Times on the progress of the Canberra Capitals during the 2006/07 WNBL season.
Bevilaqua helped launch women specific Nfinity Basketball Shoes in 2009
Merredin, Western Australia
-Economy:The agricultural land around Merredin produces 40% of Western Australia’s wheat quota. As a focal point for the region, Merredin’s local bulk handling co-operative receives and processes in excess of a million tonnes of grain every year...
) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n professional women's basketball
Women's basketball
Women's basketball is one of the few women's sports that developed in tandem with its men's counterpart. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast , in large part via women's colleges...
player. She currently plays for the San Antonio Silver Stars
San Antonio Silver Stars
The San Antonio Silver Stars are a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; the team moved to San Antonio...
in the WNBA
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
and the West Coast Waves in Australia's WNBL
Women's National Basketball League
The Women's National Basketball League is the pre-eminent women's professional basketball league in Australia. It currently is composed of ten teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Basketball League...
.
The 5'7" Bevilaqua's play style is energetic and disruptive, so much so that she is usually in the top 10 in steal
Steal (basketball)
In basketball, a steal occurs when a defensive player legally causes a turnover by his positive, aggressive action. This can be done by deflecting and controlling, catching, or batting to a teammate a pass or dribble of an offensive player...
s. In the 2005 regular season, she had more steals per turnover than any other player.
WNBA career
Bevilaqua was never draftedWNBA Draft
The WNBA Draft is an annual draft held by the WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. The first WNBA draft was held in 1997...
by a WNBA team.
She was signed by the Cleveland Rockers
Cleveland Rockers
This article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which...
as a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
before the 1998 season began, but played only 12 regular-season games for them before being waived by the team on July 1998.
In 2000, she signed a free agent contract with the Portland Fire
Portland Fire
The Portland Fire joined the Women's National Basketball Association in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA team the Portland Trail Blazers. They played their games at Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. The team folded after the 2002 season, after just three seasons in the league...
and played with them for three seasons until the franchise folded after the 2002 season.
In 2003, she signed another contract with the Seattle Storm
Seattle Storm
The Seattle Storm is a professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...
, and played two seasons for them, capping the 2004 season when the Storm won the WNBA Championship
WNBA Finals
The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the sport's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002....
, defeating the Connecticut Sun
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Orlando, Florida before the 1999 season began; the team moved to Connecticut before the 2003 season...
, two games to one.
In 2005, she signed with the Indiana Fever
Indiana Fever
The Indiana Fever is a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...
, and led them to a #2 seed in the playoffs, where they swept the New York Liberty
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...
in two games, but in turn were swept by the Connecticut Sun
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Orlando, Florida before the 1999 season began; the team moved to Connecticut before the 2003 season...
in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Despite Bevilaqua's WNBA success, she failed to make the Australian national team until 2006 at the age of 34, when she helped lead the Opals to the gold medal in the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women
2006 FIBA World Championship for Women
The 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women took place in Brazil from September 12 to September 23, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation and Confederação Brasileira de Basketball, the Brazilian national federation....
.
On 27 August 2007, Bevilaqua played a key scoring, defensive, and leadership role in the greatest comeback in WNBA history when the Indiana Fever overcame a 22 point first half deficit to win the deciding game three of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Connecticut Sun. Later that week on 31 August 2007 Tully was awarded the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award
The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association award given since the league's inaugural season, to the player who most "exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court—ethical behavior, fair play and integrity." This is the same criterion used by the...
from the WNBA.
Bevilaqua is one of only four WNBA players to record at least 800 career assists and 500 career steals.
2004 Championship Season
One of the highlights of Bevilaqua's career was her participation on the 2004 Seattle StormSeattle Storm
The Seattle Storm is a professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...
championship team. In the championship series, the Connecticut Sun
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Orlando, Florida before the 1999 season began; the team moved to Connecticut before the 2003 season...
won the first game of a three-game series. Then, before sold-out crowds at Seattle's Key Arena, Bevilaqua and the Storm won the second and third games to take the crown as champion. Bevilaqua's role in the series was backup point guard to Sue Bird and Betty Lennox, but she contributed in every phase of the game—scoring, rebounding, and playing the tenacious defense that has become her trademark on the Indiana Fever
Indiana Fever
The Indiana Fever is a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...
.
Though listed as a backup guard, in the course of the Storm's 2004 championship run Bevilaqua played unusually long minutes. This was most evident in the second game against the Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota Lynx
The Minnesota Lynx are a professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1999 season...
. Sue Bird was injured early in the game, and WNBA Finals MVP Betty Lennox quickly got into foul trouble. Storm coach Anne Donovan sent Bevilaqua in to run the offense, and she played 27 minutes to carry the team to victory. The Seattle crowd chanted her name repeatedly during the game.
In the 2009 offseason, Tully is staying in Indiana, the home of the WNBA's Indiana Fever.
Trivia
Bevilaqua played Australian rules footballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
as a youth.
Her hobbies include: karaoke singing
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
ing, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, and reading Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell is a contemporary American crime writer. She is widely known for writing a popular series of novels featuring the heroine Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner.-Early life:...
's novels.
Bevilaqua's height is listed at 5'7" (about 170 cm) in the WNBA but only 164 cm (about 5'4.5") in the WNBL.
Bevilaqua wrote a regular column in the Canberra Times on the progress of the Canberra Capitals during the 2006/07 WNBL season.
Bevilaqua helped launch women specific Nfinity Basketball Shoes in 2009
External links
- Official website
- WNBA Player Profile
- Fan site from her Seattle Storm playing days
- Tully Bevilaqua's WNBA Blog
- 12 May 2005 INtake Weekly article
- 1 June 2005 WNBA article: "Tully Puts it 'Onya'"
- Tully Bevilaqua Forum - An e-mail discussion list for fans of Tully Bevilaqua
- Tully Bevilaqua Forum's MySpace page