Alissa Pili and Lynne Roberts made quite the combo during their time together in Salt Lake City.
Now, the former Ute greats — Pili an All-American forward and Roberts an award-winning head coach — are being reunited in Los Angeles.
Pili signed a seven-day contract with the WNBA’s L.A. Sparks on Sunday. Roberts is in her first season as the Sparks’ head coach.
Pili, who was the No. 8 overall selection in the 2024 WNBA draft, was waived by the Minnesota Lynx last month.
The Sparks had an open spot on their 12-player roster after waiving veteran center Mercedes Russell on the same day, July 12, that the Lynx released Pili.
Roberts was asked about the possibility of reuniting with Pili shortly after the 5-foot-11 forward was let go by Minnesota.
“I love her like a kid of my own,” Roberts said at that time, according to HER Game Network. “I don’t know what we’re going to do. She’ll end up somewhere and maybe someday I’ll get to coach her again.”
“She’s a hell of a player. She’ll land on her feet.”
Now, that possibility is happening. WNBA teams are allowed to sign players to a seven-day contract during the second half of the season. A player can sign a maximum of three seven-day contracts with a single team during a season.
If the team chooses to keep the player beyond that, they must sign them for the remainder of the regular season.
The Sparks have three games over the next seven days, counting Sunday, including:
- Tuesday, vs. Indiana Fever
- Thursday, vs. Connecticut Sun
- Saturday, at Golden State Valkyries
Pili played in 36 games over her two seasons in Minnesota, where she averaged 2.2 points and 1.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 43.3% from the field and 34.2% from 3-point range.
The 24-year-old Pili spent two years playing for Roberts at Utah after transferring from USC ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Under Roberts, Pili shined. She was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2023 after leading the league in scoring (20.7 points per game) and field goal percentage (59%), all while helping the Utes earn a share of the Pac-12 regular-season championship.
During her senior season at Utah, Pili averaged 21.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 55% from the floor, 40.4% from 3-point range and 82% at the free-throw line.
Roberts started the 2024-25 season as Utah’s coach but left after four games to take over as the Sparks’ coach.
In her first year in Los Angeles, Roberts has led the Sparks to a 12-15 record, with a little over one month left to play in the regular season.
The Sparks are playing some of their best ball as of late, as they enter the week having won seven of its last nine games.
“I’m super happy. She’s the perfect person for the job and think she deserves everything,” Pili told Deseret News contributor Stephen Hunt of Roberts earlier this summer.
“Getting a job at this level, it’s tough. She’s a great coach and I loved playing for her. I knew the Sparks would be in good hands, so super excited for her. It’s cool to see a familiar face in the league.”
Pili will face a challenge trying to fight minutes in a frontcourt that includes Dearica Hamby (17.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg), Azura Stevens (14.9 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and Rickea Jackson (13.9 ppg), while Cameron Brink, the second-year center out of Stanford, recently returned to the lineup after missing over a year of playing time because of an ACL tear.
