St. Edward’s graduate and 12-year WNBA veteran Taj McWilliams-Franklin was a critical member of the 2011 WNBA Champion Minnesota Lynx. McWilliams-Franklin and company swept the Atlanta Dream in the league finals on Oct. 7 in Atlanta, GA. At 10.6 points per game, the 6’2 forward/center was the Lynx’s fifth leading scorer during their triumphant 2011 playoff run.

It was McWilliams-Franklin’s second WNBA championship. She won her first WNBA title with the Detroit Shock in 2008.

At 40, she is the league’s oldest player, but has continued to excel nonetheless.

The former Hilltopper standout (1990-93) began her professional odyssey in the American Basketball Association (ABL)—the precursor to the WNBA. She is a six-time WNBA all-star, averaging 11.6 points per game and 7.0 rebounds in an accomplished professional basketball career that has featured stints in Orlando, Connecticut, Las Vegas, Detroit, Washington, New York, and Minnesota.

McWilliams-Franklin, 40, was born in El Paso and majored in English Writing and Rhetoric on the hilltop. Her career has additionally consisted of off-season play with professional clubs in Spain, Russia, the Czech Republic, Italy, Turkey, Israel, South Korea, Germany, Luxembourg, and Greece.