Kayla McBride

Early life

McBride is the daughter of LaMont and LuAnn McBride. McBride has one younger brother Aaron and two younger sisters Karlee and Jayden. Her sister Karlee plays basketball for Indiana University.

High school career

McBride attended Villa Maria Academy in Erie, Pennsylvania. McBride was a three-year starter and four-year letterwinner at Villa Maria under head coach Scott Dibble, helping Victors to combined record of 106–15 (.876) with two Pennsylvania Class AA state titles (2009, 2010) and a state runner-up finish (2007) in her prep career. In her freshman year in 2006–07, served as top reserve ("sixth man") on Class AA state runner-up squad that went 27–5; she averaged 6.7 ppg., 4.3 rpg., 1.6 spg. and 1.3 apg. with a .740 free throw percentage that season and earned Swin Cash award as Western Pennsylvania's Freshman of the Year in 2007. As a sophomore in 2007–08, sparked top-ranked team in Pennsylvania to 24–5 record while averaging 13.0 ppg., 6.8 rpg., 4.5 apg., 3.1 spg. and shooting .730 from foul line. During her junior uear in 2008–09, helped VMA to 27–3 record and state title, while team rose as high as 15th in ESPN Hoopgurlz East Region rankings during season ... posted team highs of 17.3 ppg., 7.8 rpg. and 4.6 apg., along with 3.1 spg. and .820 free throw percentage. As a senior in 2009–10, led Villa Maria to a 28–2 record and its second consecutive state championship ... averaged 20.5 ppg., 11.8 rpg. and 5.6 spg., including 29 points and 11 rebounds in Class AA state final against York Catholic. She was named the District 10 Player of the Year and Pennsylvania Class AA Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010. McBride was the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year in 2010. McBride owns school records (boys or girls) in career points (1,727), rebounds (931), assists (474), steals (420) and blocked shots (191).

Freshman season (2010–2011)

McBride went to the University of Notre Dame to play basketball. As a freshman, she had to sit out half of the season because of academic issues. She watched from the sidelines as her team lost to Texas A&M in the 2011 NCAA Championship. That season she appeared in 19 games, starting in 4. McBride averaged 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and shot .557 from the field, the third highest on her team. They ended the season with a 31–8 record.

Sophomore season (2011–2012)

Her sophomore season she appeared in all 39 games, and started in 36 of those 39 games. In her sophomore year she ranked fourth on the team with a .496 field goal percentage, fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 points per game, and won the Big East regular-season free throw percentage crown, with a free throw percentage of .919. The Fighting Irish again appeared in the championship, and again, they lost, but this time to Baylor. During that game McBride scored 11 points.

Junior season (2012–2013)

Again, she played all 37 games, and started in 36 games. McBride averaged 15.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. She led the league in free throw percentage, and almost tied ninth in the country but was two made foul shots shy of the minimum to qualify for the national ranking. Her field goal percentage was .453 that season, her lowest yet. Notre Dame went to the Final Four for the third time in a row, but they lost to UConn.

Senior season (2013–2014)

McBride started in all 38 games. She averaged career highs of 17.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. The Fighting Irish went undefeated, until during the championship game against Connecticut, who was also undefeated because both teams were in a different conference, with Notre Dame in the ACC conference), it was the first time the two teams had met that season. It was McBride's last chance to win a college championship. But Notre Dame lost in the second half, with the final score being 79–58. McBride contributed 21 points and 5 rebounds to her last game as a collegiate athlete.

Notre Dame statistics

Source

WNBA

In the 2014 WNBA Draft, McBride was drafted third overall by the San Antonio Stars. She started all 34 games for the Stars in her rookie season, leading the Stars in scoring, averaging 13.0 ppg, which also ranked third among rookies in the WNBA. She was one of three unanimous selections to the WNBA All-Rookie Team and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. McBride scored in double-figures in 21 games, including two 30-point performances, while recording the most points by a Stars rookie (442) since the team relocated to San Antonio. She set career highs in assists (6) and steals (5), while scoring 15 points at Tulsa (7/17). The Stars achieved a playoff berth and finished third place in the Western Conference but were eliminated by the Minnesota Lynx in a 2-game sweep during the first round. McBride led the Stars in scoring during the postseason (22.5 ppg), while scoring a team-high 20 points in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals and 25 points in Game 2. In her second season, McBride was voted into the 2015 WNBA All-Star Game, and finished the season, averaging 13.8 ppg, but the Stars didn't make the playoffs this time. In the 2016 season, McBride would have the best season of her career thus far, but suffered a right foot injury on July 2 against the Minnesota Lynx. She was ruled out for the remainder of the season and finished with a career-high of 17.1 ppg. In the 2017 season, McBride would return healthy and play 30 games with 29 starts, avaeraging 15.4 ppg. On August 1, 2017, McBride scored a career-high 31 points in a 93-81 win over the New York Liberty.

Overseas

In the 2014-15 off-season, McBride played in Hungary for Uniqa Sopron. In the 2015-16 off-season, McBride played in Russia for Nadezhda Orenburg. As of November 2016, it was confirmed that McBride is playing in Turkey for Yakın Doğu Üniversitesi for the 2016-17 off-season.

USA Basketball

McBride was named to the USA Basketball U18 team. The USA team was one of eight teams from North, South and Central America, along with the Caribbean, invited to participate in the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship For Women, held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The top finishing team qualify for the 2011 FIBA U19 Women's World Championship. The team was coached by Jennifer Rizzotti. The team won all five games, earning the gold medal for the event, and a place in the 2011 U19 World Championship for women. McBride averaged 8.2 points per games, reaching double-digits in three of the contests. She was third leading on the team with eight steals.