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ESPN- Covers women's college basketball and the WNBA
- Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant
- Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with further experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati Enquirer
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ESPN Senior Writer- Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women's college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
Center Li Yueru has requested a trade from the WNBA's Seattle Storm as she seeks more playing time, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-7 Li was drafted into the league from her native China by Atlanta in 2019, but was traded twice and didn't actually play in the WNBA until 2022 with Chicago. She appeared in 16 games for the Sky that year.
After another trade, Li spent last season with the Los Angeles Sparks, playing 38 games and averaging 5.1 points and 3.7 rebounds. In February, she was part of a multi-team trade that sent her to Seattle.
She has appeared in eight games for the Storm, averaging 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 9.1 minutes.
Li, 26, is an important part of the Chinese national team. She led China in scoring (17.7) and rebounding (11.0) at the Paris Olympics last year. According to the source, the Chinese federation prefers Li get more playing time if she is to remain in the WNBA.
Li's trade request was first reported by GirlsTalkSportsTV.