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WATCH: Liberty Champion Has College Number Retired

The name of New York Liberty champion Kayla Thronton will live in UTEP immortality.

Geoff Magliocchetti

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty
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New York Liberty forward Kayla Thornton received a major honor from the University of Texas-El Paso Miners.

Thornton, a newly-crowned WNBA champion, returned to her native Texas over the weekend to witness the No. 5 she wore as a Miner raised to the rafters of the famous Don Haskins Center. The nine-year WNBA veteran previously starred at UTEP, where she began to establish herself as a defensive stalwart. The ceremony was conducted during halftime of the UTEP women's squad's non-conference showdown against Morehead State.

Thornton is the first female Miner to have her number retired by the basketball program. Her digit will forever fly next to those of Basketball Hall of Famers Nate Archibald, Tim Hardaway, and Nolan Richardson. She has since had the chance to re-don No. 5 in New York, which recently earned its first-ever victory in the WNBA Finals.

Under Thornton's watch, the Miner women earned their first-ever conference tournament victory in 2012. Two seasons later, Thornton pushed the team to the WNIT championship game where they ironically faced a Rutgers group featuring future Liberty teammate Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.

As it stands, Thornton is one of three players in program history to put up at least 800 points, 600 rebounds, and 100 steals. She is also the program's all-time leader in several other departments, including points (1,679) and rebounds (1,032).

It wound up being a victorious return home for Thornton, who also had her number retired by her previous alma mater of Irvin High School. The city of El Paso also labeled every Nov. 10 moving forward as "Kayla Thornton Day."

Thornton entered the WNBA as an undrafted rookie in 2015. After 10 games with the Washington Mystics and a year off, Thornton spent six seasons with the Dallas Wings before she was traded to the Liberty prior to the 2023 campaign.

Thornton played a major role in New York's championship run: she appeared in all 40 games of the showcase, including 11 starts, and posted a full-season career-best defensive rating of 101 while sinking 45 three-pointers, also a personal best. The 32-year-old notably played 21 minutes in relief during the final game of the best-of-five set against Minnesota, helping hold the mighty Lynx to less than 38 percent shooting from the field in a 67-62 victory. Prior to the 2023 postseason, Thornton and Laney-Hamilton each signed multi-year extensions to remain in New York.

Perhaps inspired by Thornton's presence, UTEP rolled to a 68-41 victory on Sunday night. They'll play under Thornton's banner on Saturday afternoon when the University of Texas-San Antonio comes to visit.

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Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks

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