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Emily Bessoir

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Emily Bessoir
Personal information
Born (2001-11-19) 19 November 2001 (age 23)
Munich, Germany
Listed height192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Career information
High schoolWilhelm-Hausenstein Gymnasium
(Germany)
CollegeUCLA (2020–2024)
PositionSmall forward
Number11
Career highlights and awards
  • Pac-12 All-Freshman Team (2020)
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  Germany
FIBA Under-18 European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2018 Italy Team
FIBA Under-16 European Championship
Silver medal – second place 2016 Italy Team

Emily Bessoir (born 19 November 2001) is a German basketball player who played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. She represents Germany in international play.

Early life

[edit]

Bessoir was born on 19 November 2001 in Munich, Germany.[1][2] She was raised there by a family with a basketball background.[2] Her father was a three-time All-American player at Scranton, and both her parents played professionally.[2][3] Bessoir stated that she modeled her game after Elena Delle Donne.[2]

Club career

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Prior to moving to the United States to play for UCLA, Bessoir played for TS Jahn München [de].[4] In the 2019–20 season, she averaged 17.9 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.1 steals over 31 minutes per game.[5]

College career

[edit]

Bessoir's father assisted her with her recruitment process.[2] Bessoir and UCLA head coach Cori Close were both present at the 2019 FIBA U18 Women's European Championship in Bangkok, with Bessoir representing Germany and Close coaching the American team.[5] UCLA's recruiting class for Bessoir's freshman season was exclusively made up of international players; she was joined by Australians Izzy Anstey and Gemma Potter.[5]

Playing 20.7 minutes per game, Bessoir averaged 7.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in her freshman season.[6] She was named to the 2020–21 Pac-12 All-Freshman team.[7]

During practice in October 2021, she suffered a torn ACL, causing her to miss the entire 2021–22 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).[8][9] She played all 37 games the following season.[10] In a December game versus CSU Bakersfield, Bessoir scored 12 points as UCLA won 75–47.[11] In February 2023, she scored 20 points and hit four 3-pointers in a 67–57 win over Oregon.[12]

UCLA opened up their 2023 Pac-12 Tournament play against Arizona State, with Bessoir scoring 17 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in an 81–70 overtime win.[13] In UCLA's following game, she scored 18 points and 13 rebounds in a win over No. 21-ranked Arizona, registering her first career double-double.[14] In UCLA's first game of the 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, she scored 14 points in a 67–45 win over 13-seed Sacramento State.[15] She was named to the All-Tournament team.[7]

During the summer of the 2023 offseason, Bessoir's Bruins played an exhibition game against her former TS Jahn München club. Bessoir scored 17 points as the Bruins won in a 126–23 rout.[16] Going into the 2023–24 season, she was an honorable mention on the Preseason All-Pac 12 Team.[17] Bessoir played in just one game during the season, scoring six points and registering four rebounds.[18] Bessoir was set to miss two games during the season to represent Germany at FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers.[7] However, during a qualifier match on 9 November, she re-injured the ACL that caused her to miss the entire 2021–22 season. As a result, she missed the rest of the season.[18]

After the 2023–24 season, it was announced that Bessoir would not be returning to UCLA or entering the transfer portal, but instead would return to Germany in hopes of making the women's Olympic roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[19] She graduated from UCLA in June.[19]

National team career

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Bessoir represents Germany in international competitions. She was on Germany's roster for the FIBA U16 Women's European Championship, helping the team win a silver medal.[20] She was later on Germany's championship-winning roster at the 2018 FIBA U18 Women's European Championship.[3] Bessoir once again competed for Germany at the FIBA U18 Women's European Championship in 2019.[1]

During the summer of 2020, she competed for Germany during the FIBA U20 Women's European Challengers. She averaged 16.2 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game in five games played.[6]

During her final year at UCLA, Bessoir missed two Bruins games to play EuroBasket Women 2025 qualifiers for Germany.[21] However, she suffered a torn ACL during a match.[18]

Bessoir was included on Germany's finalized 12-woman roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[22]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 UCLA 22 2 20.6 .407 .294 .489 5.2 1.0 1.0 .7 7.5
2021–22 UCLA Did not play due to injury
2022–23 UCLA 37 35 25.1 .413 .357 .742 5.8 1.2 .6 .9 9.4
2023–24 UCLA 1 0 23.0 .500 .333 .500 4.0 3.0 2.0 .0 6.0
Career 60 37 23.4 .412 .339 .590 5.5 1.2 .8 .9 8.6
Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[23]

Off the court

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After suffering her ACL injury during the 2023–24 UCLA season, Bessoir co-hosted an art show with Anstey, who was also injured.[24] The art show, dubbed SHE IS: a canvas of strength, beauty and grace, featured a collection of poems and included 11 paintings, a reference to Bessoir's jersey number.[24] The paintings were illustrated by Bessoir, with funds from the art show going toward Bessoir's NIL efforts.[24] Bessoir lives together with German basketball player Svenja Brunckhorst.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Emily BESSOIR". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Getting to Know... Emily Bessoir". UCLA Athletics. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b Carlson, Gavin (15 March 2023). "Emily Bessoir returns with career-best performances for UCLA women's basketball". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  4. ^ Sanchez, Noel (1 September 2023). "UCLA Women's Basketball: Forward Interviews Ex-Teammate After Exhibition Blowout". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Christon, Jon (4 May 2020). "Women's basketball's international recruits fill in gaps of departing players". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b Royer, Benjamin (8 October 2021). "Forward Emily Bessoir Tears ACL, to Miss Season for UCLA Women's Basketball". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Wang, Lauryn Olina (9 January 2024). "UCLA women's basketball steps up and into Emily Bessoir's shoes after injury". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  8. ^ "UCLA's Emily Bessoir to miss upcoming season with ACL injury". Associated Press. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2024 – via Yahoo! Sports.
  9. ^ Gonzalez, Isabel (14 October 2022). "Women's college basketball preview: Predictions for the 2022-23 season, including South Carolina taking a jump". CBS Sports. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  10. ^ "No. 2 UCLA loses Emily Bessoir for rest of season after she injured knee playing for Germany". Associated Press. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2024 – via KESQ.
  11. ^ Painter Lopez, Jill (17 December 2022). "Emily Bessoir and Londynn Jones lead No. 10 UCLA past Cal State Bakersfield". Associated Press. Retrieved 18 July 2024 – via Los Angeles Times.
  12. ^ "Emily Bessoir and Londynn Jones push No. 18 UCLA past Oregon". Associated Press. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2024 – via Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^ "UCLA's Emily Bessoir and Charisma Osborne join Pac-12 Networks following OT win over ASU". 1 March 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2024 – via Yahoo! Sports.
  14. ^ "No. 19 UCLA women beat No. 21 Arizona in Pac-12 tourney". Associated Press. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2024 – via KSL.com.
  15. ^ Reedy, Joe (19 March 2023) [18 March 2023]. "UCLA women roll to 67-45 win over Sacramento State". Associated Press. Retrieved 11 July 2024 – via KSL.com.
  16. ^ "Bruins Down Illness-Ridden TS Jahn München". UCLA Bruins. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Three Earn Preseason All-Pac-12 Recognition". gostandford.com. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  18. ^ a b c "No. 2 UCLA loses Emily Bessoir for rest of season after she injured knee playing for Germany". Associated Press. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  19. ^ a b Sawyer, Haley (19 April 2024). "UCLA forward Emily Bessoir announces she is leaving, Christeen Iwuala enters transfer portal". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Bessoir to lead Germany into European Youth Olympic Festival". fiba.basketball. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Aarnisalo, Bessoir and Dugalic to Compete at EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers". UCLA Bruins. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Unsere zwölf Spielerinnen für Paris 2024" (in German). German Basketball Federation. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Emily Bessoir College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  24. ^ a b c Ehrlich, Michael (18 March 2024). "UCLA Basketball Duo Emily Bessoir and Izzy Anstey Host First NIL Art Show". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  25. ^ Schupp, Karin (27 July 2024). "Paris 2024: Das sind die lesbischen und queeren Olympionikinnen aus Deutschland". L-MAG (in German). Retrieved 12 August 2024.
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