WNBA All-Star Weekend kicks off at Footprint Center with skills and 3 point contests

Imperial Valley local makes the trek to Footprint Center to see her favorite WNBA players

PHOENIX (KYMA, KECY) - Women's basketball's biggest weekend of the year takes Arizona!

Things kicked off with All-Star Friday night.

It's been over a decade for the WNBA All-Star game to be held in Phoenix at the Footprint Center.

The anticipation of this event was at an all-time high this year, thanks to the arrival of new players.

All-Star voting increased 600% from 2023.

Last year, no player received over 100,000 votes, but this year, the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark got over 700,000 alone.

Clark and last year's three-point contest winner New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu opted out of this year's skill challenge.

Cici Costa, an Imperial Valley local was not too happy about her favorite players sitting this one out.

"Honestly I was really disappointed, I was looking forward to seeing them compete, but you know maybe next time," Costa says.

Costa, Calexico resident and current Imperial Valley College (IVC) basketball player, says she had to come out for Friday night's action.

For her, getting to see the growth of the game has been a special sight.

"It means a lot to me you know. It's really fun. I like to play basketball during my free time, so it's really good to see that women's sports has grown this much," Costa says.

Friday was a chance for WNBA players to showcase their talents in dribbling, passing and shooting.

And in the two individual competitions, it was the Atlanta Dream's Allisha Gray taking home both trophies.

Gray won the skills and three-point competitions, making history as the first player to ever win both.

"It's very cool. Now I'm glad I accepted the call when they asked me to participate in both of them," says Gray. "Now I get another 55k in my pocket, so I was happy about that."

For Gray, Friday was also a reminder of just how much more interest there is in her league.

"It's very cool. I mean the viewership is definitely up in the W and it was amazing to see how many people are here for all the skills challenges, three-point, even the 3x3 exhibition game as well. It's very cool, that made me very happy," Gray continues.

It was a great showcase for the league and now the adrenaline rush continues Saturday when the All-Stars take on Team USA ahead of their upcoming quest for gold in the Paris Olympics.