Emilie Sofie Hesseldal (born 21 December 1990) is a Danish 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 ...
AKS Falcon
AKS Falcon are a Danish women's basketball team. It is a collaboration between Ajax Copenhagen Sports Gymnasium (AKS) and Falcon Basketball and was founded in 2021. The team won the Danish championship in 2022 and 2023, and the Danish Women's Ba ...
, being named the Finals MVP both years. During her career, she has won both the Danish Cup, in 2010 with
Aabyhøj IF
Aabyhøj Idrætsforening (; commonly known as Aabyhøj IF), is a sports club based in Aabyhøj, Jutland, Denmark. Founded in 1919 as Aabyhøj Idrætsforening "Thrott" by a group of local young men, the club mainly features association football. T ...
and 2022 with AKS Falcon, and the Icelandic Cup, in 2020 with Skallagrímur.
A strong rebounder, Hesseldal has led the Danish Dameligaen, the Spanish
Liga Feminina de Basquetebol
The Liga Feminina de Basquetebol (LFB) is the premier women's basketball league in Portugal. Founded in 1955, it has been carried out every year since 1959. Currently the LFB is granted two spots in the FIBA Eurocup.Úrvalsdeild kvenna in rebounds.
Playing career
First years (2006–2012)
Hesseldal started her career with
Aabyhøj IF
Aabyhøj Idrætsforening (; commonly known as Aabyhøj IF), is a sports club based in Aabyhøj, Jutland, Denmark. Founded in 1919 as Aabyhøj Idrætsforening "Thrott" by a group of local young men, the club mainly features association football. T ...
in the Dameligaen during the 2006–2007 season. During her second season, she had broken into the starting lineup. She led the league in steals in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, Hesseldal transferred to Horsholm 79ers where she appeared in two games, averaging 25.0 points and 9.0 rebounds, before moving to college in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
College years (2012–2016)
Hesseldal started her college career with Eckerd College in 2012. In 16 games with the Tritons, she averaged 9.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
After the season, she transferred to
Colorado State
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...
. In December 2014, Hesseldal dislocated her left elbow and completely tore her ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). After missing a month, she played through the injury for the remaining of the season and despite requiring a
Tommy John surgery
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...
to repair the damage, she decided to forgo the surgery prior to her senior season as it would've ended her college career.
Post college (2016–2018)
After graduating from college, Hesseldal took a year off from basketball. She returned to the court with Stevnsgade BBK prior to the 2017-2018 season and helped the team reach the Dameligaen finals where the club lost to Horsholm 79ers in five games.
Vitoria SC (2018–2019)
Hesseldal signed with
Liga Feminina de Basquetebol
The Liga Feminina de Basquetebol (LFB) is the premier women's basketball league in Portugal. Founded in 1955, it has been carried out every year since 1959. Currently the LFB is granted two spots in the FIBA Eurocup.Vitória S.C.
Vitória Sport Clube, commonly known as Vitória de Guimarães, is a Portuguese professional football club based in Guimarães that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top-flight of football in Portugal.
Vitória de Guimarães have finished thir ...
for the 2018–2019 season where she went on to average 11.2 points and league leading 12.2 rebounds per game.
Iceland (2019–2020)
In September 2019, Hesseldal signed with Skallagrímur of the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild kvenna.
On 22 November she scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a victory against Haukar. On 15 February 2020, Hesseldal helped Skallagrímur win the Icelandic Basketball Cup for the first time, defeating KR in the cup finals.
Back in Denmark (2020–2022)
Hesseldal signed with Danish team BMS Herlev for the 2020–2021 season. The season ended with BMS winning the Danish championship and Hesseldal receiving the finals MVP award. In 19 league games she averaged 12.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a league leading 3.1 steals per game.
Prior to the 2021–2022 season, Hesseldal signed with newly formed AKS Falcon, a joint team of Ajax København Sportsgymnasium (AKS) and Falcon Basketball. In April 2022, she won the Danish championship and was named the Finals MVP for the second straight season after Falcon swept SISU in the Dameligaen finals. In the championship game, she posted 28 points and 28 rebounds. For the season, she averaged 18.1 points, 16.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 3.2 steals and 1.5 blocks and was named the leagues MVP.
Basketligan dam
Basketligan dam, formerly known as Damligan until 2011–12, is the top professional women's basketball league in Sweden. It began in the 2001–02 season, when it replaced the old Elitserien. The league currently has 14 teams.
History
Cham ...
for the 2022–2023 season where she averaged 15.8 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
In August 2023, Hesseldal returned to Iceland and signed with Úrvalsdeild club
Njarðvík
Njarðvík () is a town in southwestern Iceland, on the peninsula of Reykjanes. As of 2009, its population was 4,400.
History
In 1995 it merged with the town of Keflavík and the village of Hafnir to form the new municipality of Reykjanesbær. T ...
Icelandic Basketball Association
The Icelandic Basketball Association (''Icelandic:Körfuknattleikssamband Íslands - KKÍ'') is the national governing body of basketball in Iceland and is a member of the continental association FIBA Europe and the global International Basketbal ...
Eurobasket.com
Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...