June 29, 2015
(AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
As she has done throughout her life, Jasmine Lister is once again capitalizing on an opportunity.
After receiving an unexpected invite to join the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, Lister has made a big impression during her first week with the team. The former Vanderbilt star has seen action in three games, and is averaging 6.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest.
Lister — who is Vanderbilt’s all-time leader in minutes played and ranks among the program’s Top-10 in scoring and assists — logged eight minutes of playing time in her WNBA debut on June 23 and finished with four points and four rebounds. She then scored seven points while playing 31 minutes in the Sparks’ next game on June 26, and followed that up with a nine-point, two-rebound effort in Sunday night’s game against New York.
For a recent feature story on Lister, click HERE.
For Lister’s stat page, click HERE.
For the Sparks’ schedule, click HERE.
After competing her outstanding career at VU in the spring of 2014, Lister was invited to training camp with the Seattle Storm but didn’t make the opening-day roster. She then spent the 2014-15 season as a graduate assistant at UConn, serving on the bench for head coach Geno Auriemma’s staff during the team’s run to its latest NCAA championship.
Lister was in her apartment in Connecticut last Sunday night when she was contacted by Los Angeles head coach Brian Agler, who Seattle’s head coach last year when Lister spent training camp with the team. Agler asked Lister if she was interested in joining the injury-plagued Sparks, and she happily accepted. She was added to the roster two days later.
LISTER’S FILE AT VANDERBILT:
* Shattered the school record for minutes played (4,626).
* Made 129 consecutive starts — every game of her career.
* Ranks third on the school’s all-time lists for assists (591).
* Ranks 10th on the school’s all-time scoring list (1,618).
* Led the team in assists this season (144).
* Was named espnW’s national player of the week and SEC player of the week on Jan. 12.
* Named WBCA All-American Honorable Mention.
* Named to postseason All-SEC Second Team by conference’s coaches.
* Named WBCA Region 3 All-American nominee.
* Preseason All-SEC selection by the media and coaches.
* Became program’s all-time leader in minutes played during the game against Missouri on Jan. 30.
