McIlwraith Enjoys Successful Pro Debut Season
June 11, 2008
ST. LOUIS - Former Saint Louis women's basketball standout Tyler McIlwraith recently completed her first season of professional basketball in Europe, where she played a leading role for a successful Amazone Leidsche Rijn team in Utericht, Netherlands. McIlwraith averaged 12.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 2.3 assists and shot 52 percent from the field and 82 percent from the free-throw line. Those numbers helped Amazone Leidsche Rijn post a 32-9 record, its best ever, and place second in the regular-season league standings before falling to defending Netherlands champion Yellow Bike in the best-of-seven championship series. McIlwraith, a former two-time Atlantic 10 Conference women's basketball Student-Athlete of the Year, was rewarded with the team's Most Valuable Player award and a selection to the Netherlands All-Star Team. "My experience at Saint Louis University prepared me athletically and mentally for the challenge of playing professional basketball overseas," McIlwraith said. "This season was an incredible experience for me, and I'm appreciative of the opportunity I had in Europe to represent the Billikens. I'm looking forward to sharing my experience with my former teammates at SLU, and hopefully I will be their motivation to make the most of their opportunities as a student and as a basketball player." "We are so proud of Tyler, and we've enjoyed watching her progress over the course of her first season as a professional player," head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller said. "She worked so hard her last two years at SLU and overcame so much to reach her goals, and this is what it's all about. She is a great role model for our current and future players, and we're so happy that her first year in Europe was successful.
"Tyler is the epitome of what you want in a student-athlete," Gray-Miller added. "She continues to do what she always has done, and that is represent Saint Louis University women's basketball with class and pride. I hope she is the first of many of our players to play professionally." |
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