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Women's National Basketball Association

Lindsey Harding, Jessica Davenport taken as top two picks in 2007 WNBA Draft

April 4, 2007 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) News Release


CLEVELAND, April 4, 2007 - Lindsey Harding and Jessica Davenport were selected with the top two overall picks in the 2007 WNBA Draft, then traded in exchange for established stars.

The Phoenix Mercury picked Harding with the top overall pick and traded her to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Tangela Smith, a 6-4 forward and an All-Star in 2006. The San Antonio Silver Stars followed suit, selecting Jessica Davenport with the second pick and trading her, along with a first round pick in 2008, to the New York Liberty in exchange for Becky Hammon and a second round pick in 2008.

For Harding, the moment was the culmination of a longtime dream. Asked when she could remember the first time as a girl the WNBA came into her consciousness, the top pick said, "It was actually the first time I ever went to a Comets game; I was actually debating to run track or play basketball because I loved track. But I saw the team out there, I saw the environment and I saw their love of the game and from that moment I remember telling my dad, 'I want to play basketball.' The WNBA helped decide my future in sports."

"I'm glad to be playing professional basketball and I'm really excited about being in New York," added Davenport. "New York's a big city and everyone says that's the pinnacle of where you want to play basketball. It will be a fun experience. I'm sure my family will be really excited because New York's not that far from home in Columbus (Ohio)."

The Chicago Sky selected Armintie Price with the third pick, followed by Noelle Quinn (Minnesota Lynx), Tiffany Jackson (New York Liberty) and Bernice Mosby (Washington Mystics).

In addition to adding Harding to the roster by means of the trade and Quinn with the fourth pick, Minnesota used three second round picks to select guard Eshaya Murphy, forward Brooke Smith and forward Kathrin Ress. Quinn, Murphy and Smith played against each other in college and were all named to the Pac-10 First Team this past season.

Connecticut closed out the first round with back-to-back selections, picking forward Kamesha Hairston in the 12th spot and center Sandrine Gruda, a native of France, 13th overall.

The WNBA will tip off its second decade of play in 2007 and will feature a record number of national telecasts. Comprehensive coverage of the WNBA regular season will include 91 national telecasts on ABC, ESPN2 and NBA TV. The season will begin on May 19 when the defending champion Detroit Shock hosts the Sacramento Monarchs in a rematch of last year's WNBA Finals. The WNBA All-Star Game will be played at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. on July 15 at 3:30 pm ET with live coverage on ABC.

In 2006, the WNBA concluded its historic tenth season with an action-packed WNBA Playoffs. The 2006 WNBA Finals capped a playoff run in which the WNBA saw significant increases in attendance and viewership. The Finals, which aired live on ESPN2, saw the Detroit Shock top the Sacramento Monarchs in the first WNBA Finals match up ever to go to a fifth and deciding game.

For more information on the WNBA, please visit WNBA.com.

2007 WNBA DRAFT ORDER

FIRST ROUND

1) Phoenix Mercury* Lindsey Harding

2) San Antonio Silver Stars^ Jessica Davenport

3) Chicago Sky Armintie Price

4) Minnesota Lynx Noelle Quinn

5) New York Liberty Tiffany Jackson

6) Washington Mystics Bernice Mosby

7) Seattle Storm Katie Gearlds

8) Houston Comets Ashley Shields

9) Indiana Fever Allison Bales

10) Chicago Sky from Sacramento (Newton, 3/23/07) Carla Thomas

11) Detroit Shock Ivory Latta

12) Connecticut Sun from Los Angeles (McWilliams- Kamesha Hairston

Franklin/DeSouza, 2/21/07)

13) Connecticut Sun Sandrine Gruda

SECOND ROUND

1) Houston Comets Dee Davis

2) Minnesota Lynx Eshaya Murphy

3) New York Liberty Shay Doron

4) San Antonio Silver Stars Camille Little

5) Phoenix Mercury Tyresa Smith

6) Washington Mystics Megan Vogel

7) Chicago Sky Stephanie Raymond

8) Sacramento Monarchs Jessica Dickson

9) Indiana Fever Lyndsey Medders

10) Minnesota Lynx Brooke Smith

11) Minnesota Lynx Kathrin Ress

12) Los Angeles Sparks Sidney Spencer

13) Connecticut Sun Cori Chambers

THIRD ROUND

1) Chicago Sky Jenna Rubino

2) Phoenix Mercury Leah Rush

3) New York Liberty Martina Webber

4) San Antonio Silver Stars Nare Diawara

5) Phoenix Mercury Chrissy Givens

6) Washington Mystics Gillian Goring

7) Seattle Storm Brandie Hoskins

8) Houston Comets Kristen Newlin

9) Indiana Fever Ashley Key

10) Sacramento Monarchs Meg Bulger

11) Phoenix Mercury Emily Westerberg

12) Los Angeles Sparks Amanda Brown

13) Connecticut Sun Kiera Hardy

*Lindsey Harding traded to Minnesota in exchange for Tangela Smith

^Jessica Davenport and a first round pick in 2008 traded to New York in exchange for Becky Hammon and a second round pick in 2008

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