These 20 players with Wisconsin connections have appeared in the WNBA

It's not just Arike. The state of Wisconsin has produced a number of superb basketball players to appear (or get drafted) in the WNBA, including three in 2019 alone (all of whom remain in the league). These are the players.

Arike Ogunbowale (Divine Savior Holy Angels)

You know about her already. The Dallas Wings star won the WNBA scoring title in 2020 and earned first-team all-league, then followed that with a second-team selection in 2021. The two-time WNBA all-star had a Final Four for the ages in leading Notre Dame to the 2018 NCAA championship, then got selected with the fifth pick in the 2019 draft. She's been on "Dancing With the Stars" and remains, at age 25, one of the faces of women's basketball.

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Janel McCarville (Stevens Point)

If there's one other WNBA Wisconsinite to know, it's likely McCarville, the first pick of the 2005 draft by the Charlotte Sting after a decorated career at the University of Minnesota. She played nine seasons in the league with Charlotte, New York and Minnesota, winning the 2013 championship with the Lynx. She averaged double figures in scoring three seasons with the Liberty and appeared in 286 games.

Mistie Bass (Janesville Parker)

One of the greats in Wisconsin basketball history, Bass played at Duke and got selected by the Phoenix Mercury with the 21st pick in the 2006 draft (then traded to Houston). Her career included stops in Chicago, Connecticut and Phoenix, with 285 games played and 4.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. She was part of the 2014 champion Mercury team.

Anna DeForge (Niagara)

Though she wasn't drafted out of Nebraska, she played for Detroit, Phoenix, Indiana, Minnesota and Detroit again over eight seasons starting in 2000, earning an all-star nod in 2007 while playing for the Indiana Fever. She averaged double figures in scoring four times and finished with 237 games played, the last in 2009.

Natisha Hiedeman (Green Bay Southwest)

The star at Marquette University was taken 18th by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2019 draft, but her WNBA career began with the Connecticut Sun in 2019, where she's stayed for three seasons. She appeared with the Sun in the WNBA Finals in 2019, a 3-2 loss to the Washington Mystics, and the Sun had the best record in the league in 2021.

Megan Gustafson (South Shore)

The Naismith Player of the Year at Iowa in 2019 was taken with the 17th pick by the Dallas Wings in 2019, and she's made three stops with the Wings, Mystics and Phoenix Mercury in her career. She's getting 7.9 minutes per game for the Mercury in 2022.

Sonja Henning (Racine Horlick)

The Stanford standout is one of the greats in Wisconsin high school basketball, and she was taken 24th by the Houston Comets in 1999 during the fledgling days of the WNBA. She was part of Stanford's 1990 championship and was named Pac-10 player of the year in 1991, then left basketball for several years before returning to play in the American Basketball League in 1996 and getting drafted in 1999 at age 29. She played five seasons over four stops but did wind up as president of the players association before returning after the 2003 season. She ended her prep career as the leading girls scorer in state history at 2,236 points (before the 3-point line, no less).

Tamara Moore (University of Wisconsin)

The Minnesota native was taken with the 15th pick in the 2002 draft by the Miami Sol and played four seasons in the league. She averaged 7.2 points per game over 31 games with two teams as a rookie in 2002.

Samantha Logic (Racine Case)

The Iowa standout was selected with the 10th overall pick of the 2015 draft by Atlanta and played in 27 games that season with Atlanta and San Antonio. She was a two-time first-team selection in the Big Ten and third-team All American.

Jolene Anderson (South Shore)

The all-time leading scorer in the University of Wisconsin history, Anderson was taken with the 23rd pick of the 2008 draft by the Connecticut Sun. She played in 24 games that year, averaging 4.0 points per contest in her lone WNBA season.

Julie Wojta (Mishicot)

The UW-Green Bay standout was taken by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2012 draft (18th). She played only briefly in July 2012 before beginning a career overseas; the former Horizon League player of the year became the first UWGB player to get drafted by a WNBA team.

Keisha Anderson (Racine Park)

After her time at the University of Wisconsin, she saw time over three seasons (2000-02) with Washington and Charlotte, appearing in 55 games.

Zuzana Klimešová (Milwaukee Pius XI)

The native of the Czech Republic had been living in Germany and decided to visit America for a year; when the 6-2 standout became one of the top recruits in the state, she returned for a second and then wound up playing at Vanderbilt. Taken with the 17th overall draft pick in 2002, she played with the Indiana Fever that season and briefly the next before appearing for her native country in the 2004 Olympics.

Robin Threatt-Elliott (University of Wisconsin)

The native of Iowa played in 20 games for the Seattle Storm in 2000. She's No. 4 on UW's all-time scoring list with 1,901 points.

Chandra Johnson (Eau Claire North)

The UW-Green Bay player appeared in eight games for the Los Angeles Sparks in 2003, becoming the first Phoenix player to appear in a WNBA game.

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Angela Jackson (West Allis Central)

She was selected out of Texas with the 33rd choice in 1998 and saw action in seven games.

Mehryn Kraker (West Allis Central)

She was also a Horizon player of the year with UWGB, in 2017, then got drafted with the 27th pick by the Washington Mystics. She did not play in the WNBA, however.

Rosalind Ross (Milwaukee Bradley Tech)

Selected with the 16th pick in 2002 by the Los Angeles Sparks out of Oklahoma, she did not play in the WNBA after experiencing knee problems. She helped lead Oklahoma to the NCAA championship game in 2002 for the first time in program history, earning a spot on the all-tournament team. She scored 26 points in the semifinal win over Duke. Ross was tragically killed in Milwaukee in 2010.

Jerica Watson (Milwaukee Washington)

Selected 45th in 2002 by the Miami Sol out of Iowa but she did not play in the WNBA.

LaTonya Sims (Racine Park)

After her career at the University of Wisconsin (she remains the No. 6 scorer in program history), Sims was signed by the Minnesota Lynx but did not make the roster.

Did we miss anyone? JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin has produced several WNBA players from high school, college