As a teenager, when she was walking down a street in Rwanda, 6-foot-4 Bella Murekatete was discovered by well-regarded basketball coach who was in the neighborhood.
Within a year, she had represented her country at the U16 level and soon moved to the United States to play high school ball. After wrapping up her college career at Washington State, where she made a name for herself as one of the best rebounders in NCAA Division I women’s basketball, she signed a training camp contract with the Phoenix Mercury. She’s yet to play in the W, but after receiving precious advice from Brittney Griner, she continues to grind and work on her skills.
Following a strong professional season in Spain playing for Sedis Cadí La Seu, she’s back in Rwanda, but will soon set off for another adventure—one that will, hopefully, culminate in her making her WNBA debut. Below are some highlights from a recent conversation with Swish Appeal:
On how she started playing basketball:
I was walking down the street. I got hurt [playing volleyball] and then I went to the hospital. And then after that I was walking to the store to go see my mom. And then this famous coach, who was in our neighborhood, was like, “Oh my gosh, that’s a…
