Notre Dame forward Liatu King (20) reaches out for a rebound during a NCAA women's basketball game between No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 25 Louisville at Purcell Pavilion on Sunday, March 2, 2025, in South Bend. MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame's King plays well in WNBA Debut with Los Angeles Sparks

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Jared Shlensky | Last updated May 8, 2025 12:28 PM ET

Notre Dame's Liatu King didn't shine quite like college teammate Sonia Citron did in her WNBA preseason debut on Tuesday, but the Los Angeles Sparks third-round pick did play well in limited minutes in her first game at the pro level.

In five minutes, King scored six points, including a three pointer and grabbed four rebounds. And best of all, the Sparks held on to beat the Golden State Valkyries, 83-82.

Liatu King gets her first WNBA bucket after crashing the boards. @liatuking x @WNBA pic.twitter.com/TnhG3t1bUe
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) May 7, 2025

Tuesday marked the Sparks first and only WNBA preseason game of the season, so King even getting to the sniff the floor was far from a guarantee. Fortunately, King got to play, and more importantly, played well in her limited time.

The Sparks don't have any more preseason games before the team opens the regular season on Friday, May 16th, against Golden State, so King performing well was crucial for her to have any chance of making LA's season-opening roster.

King, who helped the Fighting Irish advance to the Sweet 16 in her only season in South Bend after transferring from Pittsburgh for her final year of eligibility, averaged a double-double --11.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game -- and left Notre Dame as the school's single-season record holder for rebounds per game this past season.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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