Adaora Nnenna Elonu (born 28 April 1990) is a Nigerian-American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and a member of the Nigeria women's national team. Elonu played college basketball for

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, with whom she won the 2011 NCAA Championship.

Texas A&M statistics

Source

Club career

In 2012, she went overseas, playing one season in Israel for Hapoel Galil Elyon, after which she signed in Spain with Beroil–Ciudad de Burgos. After the team disbanded, she signed for

CB Conquero 'Club Baloncesto Conquero', is a Spanish women's basketball club based in Huelva, that currently plays in the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. History Created in 1999 from the merge of local clubs CB Gilest and CB Ciudad de Huelva, in 2008 it reached ...

with whom she won the 2016

Copa de la Reina Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Ass ...

, being selected as the tournament's MVP. Despite not playing several games with the club due to lack of payment of her wages, she likewise finished the regular season with the highest efficiency ranking. Subsequently, she signed for Spanish champion

CB Avenida Perfumerías Avenida Baloncesto formerly C.B. Halcón Viajes, is a women's professional basketball team based in Salamanca, Spain. The team currently plays in the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. In 2011 Perfumerías Avenida won the Euroleague, an ...

for season 2016–17.she averaged 9.9ppg, 4.3rpg, 1.8apg and 1.5spg. She helped them to win the Supercup and end the regular season at the top position On 10 August 2018, she signed with the WNBA side

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

on a seven-day contract. Elonu moved to Spanish side

Uni Girona CB Uni Girona Club de Basquet, also known as Spar Girona (previously Spar Citylift Girona) for sponsorship reasons, is a Spanish women's basketball club from Girona. History Founded in 2005 from the fusion of local clubs CE Santa Eugènia and CB Ve ...

in August, 2019. she won Most Valuable Player (MVP) as Uni Girona, defeated Perfumerías Avenida 82-80 points to lift the Spanish Super Cup at the Fontajau in September, 2019. She started the 2021–2022 season with

Nadezhda Orenburg PBK Nadezhda Orenburg (russian: ПБК «Надежда») is a Russian women's basketball club from Orenburg founded in 1994. Nadezhda has been 3rd in the Russian Premier League in 2010 and 2011, and reached the Russian Cup's final from 2011� ...

of the Russian PBL league but left the club following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. Shortly later she returned to Spain and signed with

International career

Elonu has played with the Nigerian's national team with whom she achieved the bronze medal in the

AfroBasket Women 2015 The 2015 FIBA Africa Championship for Women was the 22nd AfroBasket Women, played under the rules of FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, and FIBA Africa. The tournament was hosted by Cameroon from 24 September to 3 October, with games ...

, being elected as part of the tournament's All-Star Five. She was part of the Nigerian side that won gold at the Afrobasket 2017 championship in Mali. She averaged the team's high 3.9 assists per game. She was also a member of the tournament's top ten players. Elonu emerged captain of the Nigeria Women's National Basketball Team on 10 August while the team camped in Atlanta in preparation for the 2018 FIBA Women's World Cup. During the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, she averaged 7.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. She also participated in the 2021 FIBA women's Afrobasket basketball tournament in Cameroon, as the captain of the team, clinching the title. She was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Personal life

Adaora Elonu is sister to also professional basketball player

Chinemelu Elonu Chinemelu D. Elonu Jr. (born March 11, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Al-Jahra of the Kuwaiti Division I Basketball League. He played college basketball for Texas A&M. High school career Elonu attended Alief Elsi ...

Awards and accomplishments

Club

* 2011: 2011 NCAA Championship * 2016:

Spanish Cup The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

(being named Tournament MVP) * 2019:

(being named Tournament MVP)

National team

* 2015: Bronze Medal at

(named in the tournament's All-Star Five) * 2017: Gold Medal at

AfroBasket Women 2017 The 2017 FIBA Women's AfroBasket was the 23rd AfroBasket Women, played under the rules of FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, and FIBA Africa. The tournament was hosted by Mali from 18 to 27 August, with games played at Bamako. The wi ...

* 2019: Gold Medal at AfroBasket Women 2019 * 2021: Gold Medal at AfroBasket Women 2021 (named the tournament's Most Valuable Player)

References

External links

Profile in FEB.es

Afrobasket 2015 Profile in fiba.com
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elonu, Adaora Living people 1990 births Basketball players from Texas Forwards (basketball) Hapoel Galil Elyon players Nigerian women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players from Houston Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball players African Games silver medalists for Nigeria African Games medalists in basketball American expatriate basketball people in Spain Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Spain Competitors at the 2015 African Games Igbo sportspeople Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of Nigeria Citizens of Nigeria through descent African-American basketball players Nigerian people of African-American descent American emigrants to Nigeria American sportspeople of Nigerian descent 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century American women