LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) —- For the third consecutive season, the University of Louisville women’s basketball team had players selected in the WNBA Draft.
Jazmine Jones, a guard, was selected with the final pick in the first round, and 12th overall, by the New York Liberty.
One pick later the Liberty selected another Card — forward/center Kylee Shook, who averaged 10.1 points and 8.1 rebounds.
Jones averaged 14.1 points and five rebounds for the Cardinals. In New York, Jones and Shook will be teammates with Asia Durr, her former U of L teammate who was drafted in the first round by the Liberty last season.
"What a special night for both Jaz and Kylee," U of L coach Jeff Walz said. "Being selected in the WNBA Draft is one of the hardest things to do.
"They came in as freshman and worked so hard for four years. They were coachable and wanted to be challenged every single day. I love both of them and couldn’t be happier.
"What a great night for everyone associated with our program -- from coaches to players to our wonderful fans."
The draft format was altered because of the novel coronavirus. The top players were not gathered in a central location as something the league called a “virtual draft” unfolded on ESPN with most players watching on television at home.
Louisville won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title, winning 28 of 32 games. They were likely to be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament but the event was canceled because of the novel coronavirus.
Starting with Angel McCoughtry in 2009, Louisville has had players selected in five of the last dozen drafts. Three Cardinals — Asia Durr, Sam Fuehring and Arica Carter — were taken last season. Jones and Shook are the 10th and 11th WNBA picks for Walz's program.
Sabrina Ionescu, the national player of the year from Oregon, was selected first by the New York Liberty. Three Oregon players were selected in the first eight selections.
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