Seattle Storm draft Notre Dame’s Jewell Loyd with No. 1 pick
The Seattle Storm selected Notre Dame junior guard Jewell Loyd with the No. 1 pick in Thursday’s draft.
Loyd joined Candace Parker as the second underclassman in league history to be the top pick. She led Notre Dame to the national championship game this season and averaged 19.8 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 44.3% from the field. She was a consensus First Team All-American and the ACC Player of the Year.
The Tulsa Shock drafted Minnesota sophomore center Amanda Zahui B. with the No. 2 pick. A 6'5" center from Sweden, she averaged 18.8 points, 12.9 rebounds and 4.1 blocks while shooting 55.5% from the field. She had a triple double in the Big 10 tournament and had NCAA single-game highs of 29 rebounds and 11 blocks.
• Diana Taurasi will not play 2015 WNBA season
The Storm also had the No. 3 pick and drafted UConn forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. She owns the NCAA career mark for three-pointers and led the Huskies to three straight national titles.
Rounding out the top five, the Connecticut Sun selected Duke center Elizabeth Williams with the No. 4 pick, and the Chicago Sky drafted Middle Tennessee State forward Cheyenne Parker at No. 5.
The complete draft results are below. The WNBA season tips off on June 5.
Round 1
1. Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm
2. Amanda Zahui B., Tulsa Shock
3. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Seattle Storm
4. Elizabeth Williams, Connecticut Sun
5. Cheyenne Parker, Chicago Sky
6. Dearica Hamby, San Antonio Stars
7. Crystal Bradford, Los Angeles Sparks
8. Ally Malott, Washington Mystics
9. Brittany Boyd, New York Liberty
10. Samantha Logic, Atlanta Dream
11. Kiah Stokes, New York Liberty
12. Isabelle Harrison, Phoenix Mercury
Round 2
13. Brianna Kiesel, Tulsa Shock
14. Cierra Burdick, Los Angeles Sparks
15. Natasha Cloud, Washington Mystics
16. Reshanda Gray, Minnesota Lynx
17. Betnijah Laney, Chicago Sky
18. Alex Harden, Phoenix Mercury
19. Brittany Hrynko, Connecticut Sun
20. Vicky McIntyre, Seattle Storm
21. Chelsea Gardner, Indiana Fever
22. Aleighsa Welch, Chicago Sky
23. Amber Orrange, New York Liberty
24. Zofia Hruscakova, Phoenix Mercury
Round 3
25. Mimi Mungedi, Tulsa Shock
26. Nneka Enemkpali, Seattle Storm
27. Laurin Mincy, New York Liberty
28. Michala Johnson, New York Liberty
29. Ariel Massengale, Atlanta Dream
30. Dragana Stankovic, San Antonio Stars
31. Andrea Hoover, Los Angeles Sparks
32. Mrica Gajic, Washington Mystics
33. Nikki Moody, San Antonio Stars
34. Lauren Okafor, Atlanta Dream
35. Shae Kelley, Minnesota Lynx
36. Promise Amukamara, Phoenix Mercury
• Candace Parker to sit out part of WNBA season
- Paul Palladino
