Plenette Pierson is returning to the Lynx as a coach.
Needing to replace James Wade — who left to become head coach of the Chicago Sky — Lynx General Manager and head coach Cheryl Reeve elevated Walt Hopkins to full-time assistant and hired Pierson as an assistant.
Pierson's 15-year career in the WNBA ended with the Lynx in 2017 with the franchise's fourth league title in seven seasons.
"Leaving the WNBA in 2017 in championship fashion with this franchise, I knew someday I'd be back with Coach Reeve," Pierson said in a release.
That 2017 success wasn't the first time Pierson and Reeve had shared titles. Pierson — who played 444 games with four teams — made four trips to the finals, winning titles in 2006 and 2008 with the Detroit Shock when Reeve was an assistant there.
KENT YOUNGBLOOD
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• Dryden McKay of Minnesota State Mankato and Hunter Shepard of Minnesota Duluth were among the 10 goalies named semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award, presented to the most outstanding goalkeeper in NCAA men's hockey. Another semifinalist was Notre Dame's Cale Morris, whom the Gophers will face in the Big Ten tournament semifinals on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.
• Redshirt senior Vince Dietz of St. Cloud State was named the NSIC Wrestler of the Year and the Huskies' Steve Costanzo the Coach of the Year. SCSU won the NCAA Division II national title led by Dietz, who placed second at 197 pounds.
![A black bear stopped after crossing Big Bay Road on Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin, on Monday, May 31, 2021. ]](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/PWNYGIY3WTSWDBOGOYD775DPP4.jpg?&w=80&ar=1:1&fit=crop)
