Jana El-Alfy

Last updated

Jana El-Alfy
No. 8–UConn Huskies
Position Center
Personal information
Born20 September 2005 (2005-09-20) (age 20)
Cairo, Egypt
Listed height6 ft 5 [1]  in (1.96 m)
Career information
College UConn (2024–present) [2]
Career highlights
Medals
Representing Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt
Women's basketball
FIBA Under 18 African Championship
Silver medal icon (S initial).svgMadagascar 2022 Team

Jana El-Alfy (born 20 September 2005) [3] is an Egyptian basketball player who plays for UConn Huskies women's basketball and Egypt Women's National Team. In 2022, she became the first African woman and second-ever woman to be invited to attend the NBA Global Academy in Australia. [4]

Contents

Early life

El-Alfy was born in Cairo, Egypt to Dina Gouda and Ehab El-Alfy, the head coach of the Egypt women's national basketball team. [5] She has three younger siblings: Malak, Anas, and Moaz. [6]

From a young age, her parents introduced her to both volleyball and basketball, reflecting their respective athletic backgrounds and anticipating her height. Ehab often brought Jana to his practices, where she would spend four to five hours watching basketball daily. By the age of six, she had already shown a strong passion for the sport, once asking her father if she could dunk—a moment he recalls vividly, lowering the basket and enlisting his assistant coach to help her complete the move. Ultimately, it came as no surprise to her father when she chose basketball over volleyball. El-Alfy dove headfirst into the sport, embracing it fully from an early age. [4] [7]

Career

El-Alfy was introduced to both basketball and volleyball when she was three years old; she began playing for organized teams some years later while following her dad around. [8] In 2022, she was awarded the MVP honor alongside Thierry Darlan by the NBA's Golden State Warriors' coach Steve Kerr at the NBA's Basketball Without Borders Camp's first-ever event held in Cairo. [9] [10]

National team career

She started her global basketball career at the age of 15 when she represented Egypt at the U16 African Championships. She went on to represent her country at the 2021 FIBA U16 African Championship, the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup, and the 2022 FIBA U18 African Women's Championship. [11] In 2021, she led her country to gold at the U17 African Championship. At the 2022 FIBA U18, she led Egypt to a silver medal where she averaged 24.7 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. [4]

In 2023, she represented Egypt at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2023 that was held in Madrid where she scored 29 in her first game. Her performance contributed to Egypt beating China for the first time at the women's youth level. [12] [13] El Alfy suffered a knee injury in the Madrid series. [1]

College career

In January 2023, El Alfy enrolled at the University of Connecticut for the spring semester and joined the UConn Huskies women's basketball team immediately. [14] Although she did not compete during the 2022-23 season, she practiced and traveled with the team. [15] El Alfy made history as the first player from Egypt to join the UConn program. She chose UConn over several other major programs, including Cincinnati, Duke, Maryland, Michigan, NC State, Louisville, Oregon, UCLA, and UNC. [16]

On July 25, 2023, it was announced that El Alfy would miss the entire 2023-24 season after suffering an Achilles tendon rupture during the 2023 FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Spain. [17]

She made her official debut with the Huskies on November 7, 2024, in an 86–32 win over Boston, recording a team-high 17 points and 11 assists for her first career double-double. [18] On April 6, 2025, she won her first national championship, contributing 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal in 10 minutes of play. [19] Her parents traveled 25 hours from Egypt to watch her play for UConn for the first time and witnessed her celebrate the national title with the Huskies. [20] El Alfy appeared in all 40 games during the 2024-25 season, starting in 27 of them, and averaged 5.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. [6]

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold Career best°League leader
*Denotes seasons in which El-Alfy won an NCAA Championship

College

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2023–24 UConn Did not play due to injury
2024–25* UConn 392616.152.125.050.95.21.00.60.61.25.1
Career392616.152.125.050.95.21.00.60.61.25.1
Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference. [21]

References

  1. 1 2 Fanta, John (25 July 2023). "UConn's latest injury: Jana El Alfy to miss 2023-24 season with torn Achilles". FOX Sports. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  2. ↑ "Jana El Alfy Stats, WNCAAB News, Bio and More". USA TODAY. 17 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "Jana ELALFY at the FIBA U16 Women's African Championship 2021". FIBA.basketball. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Vanoni, Maggie (26 December 2022). "UConn women's basketball recruit Jana El Alfy will come to CT from Egypt next year. Meet the future Husky". CT Insider. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  5. ↑ Smith, Alex (25 July 2023). "UConn's Jana El Alfy to miss 2023-24 season due to ruptured Achilles". SNY. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Jana El Alfy - Women's Basketball". University of Connecticut Athletics. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  7. ↑ Weekly, UConn WBB. "Jana El Alfy has "a great future" with UConn, even if she won't play this season". UConn WBB Weekly. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  8. ↑ Amore, Dom (15 November 2022). "Dom Amore: 'Oh, my gosh. It's real;' Jana El Alfy follows her dreams from Egypt to UConn". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  9. ↑ "Highly sought-after NBA Academy talents star at BWB Africa camp in Cairo". ESPN.com. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  10. ↑ "Egyptian Elalfy and Darlan of CAF named BWB Africa camp MVPs". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  11. ↑ "Ibrahim and Elalfy charting their own paths with Egypt U18 Women's team". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  12. ↑ "Five reasons Egypt star Elalfy can be Africa's number one baller". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  13. ↑ Weekly, UConn WBB. "Jana El Alfy remaining positive despite season ending injury". UConn WBB Weekly. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  14. ↑ "El Alfy Enrolls Early, Joins UConn Women's Basketball Program". University of Connecticut Athletics. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  15. ↑ "UConn recruit El Alfy joins team, won't play in '23". ESPN.com. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  16. ↑ Connolly, Daniel (9 November 2022). "UConn women's basketball signs Egyptian forward Jana El Alfy". The UConn Blog. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  17. ↑ Connolly, Daniel (24 July 2023). "Jana El Alfy to miss entire 2023-24 season with Achilles tendon rupture". The UConn Blog. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  18. ↑ "UConn 86-32 Boston University (Nov 7, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  19. ↑ "UConn 82-59 South Carolina (Apr 6, 2025) Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  20. ↑ "Jana El Alfy's parents traveled from Egypt to watch the freshman center and UConn win a title". AP News. 6 April 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  21. ↑ "Jana El Alfy College Stats". Sports-Reference . Retrieved 8 April 2025.
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