Taurasi Selected No. 1 Overall by Phoenix in 2004 WNBA Draft, Conlon Headed
to L.A. for Tryout
SECAUCUS, N.J. (April 17, 2004) – Connecticut’s
two-time Naismith National Player of the year and three-time national
champion Diana Taurasi (Chino, Calif.) was picked by the
Phoenix Mercury with the first overall selection in the 2004 WNBA
Draft on Saturday.
Taurasi, who is fresh off leading the Huskies to their
third straight national title and is currently trying out for a spot on the U.S.
Senior National Team that will compete in the 2004 Summer Games in Athens,
becomes the second UConn women’s basketball player to be the first overall
selection in a WNBA Draft, joining former Husky Sue Bird, who was the top
overall choice in the 2002 draft.
Taurasi is the seventh Connecticut player taken in the
first round of the WNBA Draft since 2001 joining Bird (2002/1st
overall), Swin Cash (2002, 2nd overall), Ashja Jones (2002, 4th
overall), Tamika Williams (2002/6th overall), Svetlana Abrosimova
(2001/7th overall) and Kelly Schumacher (2001/14th
overall).
During her UConn tenure, Taurasi led the Huskies to an
overall record of 139-8, including a 22-1 mark in NCAA Tournament play, which
included a run of three consecutive national titles (2002, 2003, 2004).
A back-to-back BIG EAST Player of the Year, Taurasi is also
a three-time member of the Kodak All-America Team, a two-time Associated Press
First Team All-America choice and a two-time selection to the United States
Basketball Writers all-America Team.
In addition, during the 2003 season Taurasi was named the
Associated Press National Player of the year and was the winner of the Wade
Trophy, Naismith National Player of the Year and the Nancy Lieberman Award.
Taurasi was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA
Final Four in each of the last two seasons.
She closed out her UConn career as the program’s career
leader in assists (648) and 3-point field goals (318). Taurasi finished as the
Huskies’ third leading all-time scorer with 2,156 points and ranks sixth
all-time with 147 blocks.
Taurasi is the first player in Connecticut basketball
history to record 2,000 points, 600 assists and 600 rebounds in a career.
Fellow UConn senior Maria Conlon (Derby, Conn.) has
been invited for a tryout by the Los Angeles Sparks and could earn an invite to
the team’s training camp which opens on April 24.
All photos property of the Associated Press
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