Folade Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (born August 29, 1991) is a Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Career

College

In college, Raincock-Ekunwe attended

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. In her final three years with SFU, she participated in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

, where she consistently averaged 18 points a game.

Europe

After college, Raincock-Ekunwe headed to Europe and signed with Pully Basket in the

Swiss LNA Swiss LNA is the biggest Roller Hockey Clubs Championship in Switzerland. List of Winners Number of Swiss National Championships by team External links Swiss websitesFederation Suisse de Rink-Hockeyh2> International

. She had a successful season taking home several awards. The following year, she travelled north in Europe and signed with Donau-Ries in the German

Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga The Damen-Basketball-Bundesligen GmbH (DBBL) is a company founded in June 2001, which manages the first and the two second federal leagues of women's basketball in Germany. The shareholders of the GmbH are AG 1. DBBL, AG 2. DBBL and DBB. DBBL is ...

for the 2014–15 season. After one season with the side, she moved to Wasserburg. There she helped lead the team to the German title. After she concluded her Australian season with Bendigo, Raincock-Ekunwe was signed by Flammes Carolos Basket Ardennes in

Charleville-Mézières or ''Carolomacérienne'' , image flag=Flag of Charleville Mezieres.svg Charleville-Mézières () is a commune of northern France, capital of the Ardennes department, Grand Est. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the river Meuse. ...

for the remainder of the 2017 season, playing in just five games. Raincock-Ekunwe will return to France's

Ligue Féminine de Basketball The Ligue Féminine de Basketball (LFB; ''Women's Basketball League'') is the top women's French professional basketball league. Champions * precedes the score of the team playing at home. Clubs Current season (2021–22) * Union Féminine An ...

for the 2017–18 season, after signing with Rezé-Nantes Basket 44. After the FIBA 2018 World Cup ended, she returned to France to play in the 2018–19 season for Tango Bourges Basket.

Australia

Raincock-Ekunwe signed with the

Bendigo Spirit Bendigo Spirit is one of three Victorian basketball teams in the Australian Women's National Basketball League. The team, based in the regional city of Bendigo, Victoria, joined the competition from the 2007/08 season. History The Bendigo Spirit ...

in Australia for the 2016–17

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Ba ...

season. The Spirit placed in 6th position for the season and failed to reach the 2017 WNBL Finals. Raincock-Ekunwe was Player of the Week twice and named to the Team of the Week on five occasions.

WNBA

Raincock-Ekunwe was signed by the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was ...

for the preseason camp, heading into the

2017 WNBA season The 2017 WNBA season was the 21st season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Its regular season began on May 13 with three games, highlighted by the defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Seattle Storm. It conclu ...

. She made her preseason debut on May 2, 2017.

National team

Raincock-Ekunwe made her national team debut as a member of the 2011 Development Women's National Team that participated in the

2011 Summer Universiade The 2011 Summer Universiade ( zh, c=2011年夏季世界大学生运动会, p=Èr líng yī yī Nián xiàjì shìjiè dàxuéshēng yùndònghuì), the XXVI Summer Universiade ( zh, c=第二十六届夏季世界大学生运动会, p=Dì Èrshíl ...

. In 2013, she moved to the Senior Women's national team and began participating in more exhibition matches. In 2015, Raincock-Ekunwe was a core member of one of the most successful years for the Canadian national team in recent years. She helped bring home their first

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

Gold medal with a win over the USA. She then also participated at the

2015 FIBA Oceania Women's Championship The 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship for Women was the 16th edition of the FIBA Oceania Championship for Women. Held in August 2015, it took the form of a two-game series between the Australian Opals and New Zealand Tall Ferns. It served as the ...

on home soil and helped the team take home the title and secure their place at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In September 2018, she participated at the FIBA World Cup in Tenerife, Spain. Canada ended in 7th place, with Nayo averaging 8.2 points and 6.5 rebounds in 25 minutes on average. In July 2021, she participated in the

2021 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in Tokyo, Japan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raincock-Ekunwe, Nayo 1991 births Living people Basketball players from Toronto Basketball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Bendigo Spirit players Canadian expatriate basketball people in Australia Canadian expatriate basketball people in France Canadian expatriate basketball people in Germany Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian expatriate basketball people in Switzerland Canadian women's basketball players College women's basketball players in the United States Canadian sportspeople of Nigerian descent Forwards (basketball) New York Liberty players Olympic basketball players of Canada Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in basketball Simon Fraser University alumni Women's National Basketball League players Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Black Canadian basketball players