On Monday, After getting waived off twice by the Seattle Storm and Minnesota Lynx, Evina Westbrook got signed to play for the Washington Mystics as a bench player.
On Wednesday, the Washington Mystics played the Atlanta Dream. In the 3rd quarter, Coach Mike Thibault gave Westbrook a chance to show the coach that she was a star. In those two quarters, Westbrook dropped two threes, 5 assists, and 2 rebounds. The game ended with a score of 85-66, Mystics.
When she was in middle school, Evina was first introduced to the game of basketball by her watching her dad, James, while coaching her brother, LJ’s team. She would study the game and watch the moves and plays as two teams competed against each other.
“My dad and brother LJ definitely had something to do with it, but my true inspiration came from the game itself. I really started liking it. Just watching how players dribbled the ball and shot it — also how players defended. I just fell in love with the whole aspect of the game and I haven’t stopped — it’s a lot of fun,” Evina said.
In college, Westbrook played for the Connecticut Huskies, and in all of her college basketball years besides the 2019-2020 season, her team made it to the final four. She averages around 5 ppg and 7 assists every game.
Because of her ability to lead the team, she got drafted by WNBA’s Seattle Storm in 2019.
“People would die for opportunities like I have,” Westbrook said.
When playing on the Storms, it seemed that she was not playing her best; she only averaged 2.6 points and 3 assists per game.
On the last day of the pre-season, she was traded to the Minnesota Lynx. On the Lynx, Evina was also not doing well. Westbrook averaged around 3 ppg in the span of 12.4 minutes. Just after 14 games, she was traded again.
Finally, she found her home. Even though Evina signed a 7-day contract with the Mystics, she was averaging 5 ppg in the span of 6 minutes.
Westbrook knows that she can’t control which team she is going to be on and whether she is a starter or not, but she knows that she can control how much work she puts in to get better and stronger.
“I know I can give so much more, and I try to do that,” Westbrook said. “It’s just me telling myself, ‘Evina, you’re a dog. Play like that.’”
On Wednesday, the Washington Mystics played the Atlanta Dream. In the 3rd quarter, Coach Mike Thibault gave Westbrook a chance to show the coach that she was a star. In those two quarters, Westbrook dropped two threes, 5 assists, and 2 rebounds. The game ended with a score of 85-66, Mystics.
When she was in middle school, Evina was first introduced to the game of basketball by her watching her dad, James, while coaching her brother, LJ’s team. She would study the game and watch the moves and plays as two teams competed against each other.
“My dad and brother LJ definitely had something to do with it, but my true inspiration came from the game itself. I really started liking it. Just watching how players dribbled the ball and shot it — also how players defended. I just fell in love with the whole aspect of the game and I haven’t stopped — it’s a lot of fun,” Evina said.
In college, Westbrook played for the Connecticut Huskies, and in all of her college basketball years besides the 2019-2020 season, her team made it to the final four. She averages around 5 ppg and 7 assists every game.
Because of her ability to lead the team, she got drafted by WNBA’s Seattle Storm in 2019.
“People would die for opportunities like I have,” Westbrook said.
When playing on the Storms, it seemed that she was not playing her best; she only averaged 2.6 points and 3 assists per game.
On the last day of the pre-season, she was traded to the Minnesota Lynx. On the Lynx, Evina was also not doing well. Westbrook averaged around 3 ppg in the span of 12.4 minutes. Just after 14 games, she was traded again.
Finally, she found her home. Even though Evina signed a 7-day contract with the Mystics, she was averaging 5 ppg in the span of 6 minutes.
Westbrook knows that she can’t control which team she is going to be on and whether she is a starter or not, but she knows that she can control how much work she puts in to get better and stronger.
“I know I can give so much more, and I try to do that,” Westbrook said. “It’s just me telling myself, ‘Evina, you’re a dog. Play like that.’”
