Former FGCU star Kiersten Bell wins second straight WNBA title with Las Vegas

Author: Zach Oliveri
Published: Updated:

When the final buzzer sounded at the end of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, Las Vegas Aces forward Kierstan Bell rushed off the bench to center court. The Aces did something all athletes dream of and that’s wining a championship.

“Everybody’s been like bro you’ve in the league for two years and you’re already at two rings,” Bell said.

The second-year forward is used to winning and celebrating. Bell won two ASUN titles with head coach Karl Smesko and Florida Gulf Coast. After being in attendance for Bell’s first WNBA championship clinching win, Smesko made sure he was there when Bell won again.

“She had the trophy over her head.,” Smesko remembered the celebration after Game 4. “She ran with it to the locker room and then she had to bring it back out. I mean it was just they were having a lot of fun.”

This championship capped off quite a year for Bell. Before the Aces began their title defense, Bell reunited with her father, Perry, who spent 20 years in prison.

“I just never thought that this day would come honestly. Sorry…the day he got out and he came to Vegas, it was like very like a good moment because I just never thought that I would see him in person,” Bell explained as she started to tear up.

This season, Bell’s dad was in the stands as she grew into a rotational player. Away from the court, the two had a instant connection.

“One time we went to a restaurant and he was like he doesn’t like ketchup, he doesn’t like tomatoes, he likes root beer and I’m just like you, are we the same person right now,” Bell recalled. “Like I’m just realizing that we have so much in common.”

The Aces are the first team in 21 years to win back-to-back WNBA titles.

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