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Silver Stars Select Wecker, Ely, Kraayeveld in 2005 WNBA Draft

April 16, 2005 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
San Antonio Stars News Release


SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Silver Stars announced today that they selected Kendra Wecker from Kansas State University with the fourth overall pick in the 2005 WNBA Draft. The Silver Stars rounded out their draft selections by selecting Shyra Ely from the University of Tennessee with the 14th overall pick (second round) and Catherine Kraayeveld from the University of Oregon with the 27th overall pick (third round). In addition, San Antonio traded center Margo Dydek to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Katie Feenstra and the Sun's first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft.

"Overall, we thought the draft went extremely well for us," Silver Stars Head Coach Dan Hughes said. "One of our goals this year coming into the draft was to fill in some of the positions where we felt like we were thin at. We needed help with our perimeter shooting and at the post. I believe our picks addressed both of those areas."

Wecker, a 5-11 forward, earned AP All-America First Team and Kodak All-American honors in 2005 after leading Kansas State to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She was also named to the John R. Wooden All-American Team, a USBWA All-American and received the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award. Wecker finished her career at Kansas State as the Big 12 Conference's and Wildcats' all-time leading scorer with 2,333 career points and is the school's all-time leading rebounder with 1,087 rebounds. Voted as the 2005 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, Wecker also holds the school records for most career double-doubles (52), career field goals made (935), career field goals attempted (1,913), career minutes played (4,141) and most consecutive free throws made (28).

"Kendra Wecker is a strong, solid player that can catch and shoot the ball and is great on the boards," Hughes added. "She gives a 110 percent every time she takes the floor. We feel Kendra really fits in to what we are trying to do here."

As a senior Wecker averaged a double-double, scoring a career-best 21.0 points per game while pulling down a career-best 10.1 rebounds per game. A two-time AP All-American Third Team selection (2003, 2004) and a three-time All Big-12 First Team selection (2003, 2004, 2005), Wecker finished her career averaging 18.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 48.9 percent (.489) from the field, 39.8 percent (153-384) from three-point range and 86.4 percent (310-359) from the foul line.

"Waking up this morning I was really nervous, but now that I know I'm headed to the Silver Stars I'm relieved," Wecker said. "San Antonio is a great city and I think my new team will be a great fit for me."

A 2005 AP All-American Honorable Mention and an All-SEC First Team selection this season, Ely is a 6-2 forward who enjoyed a stellar career at UT. As a senior, Ely was named MVP of the SEC Tournament and helped lead the Lady Vols to the NCAA Final Four, averaging a team-best 14.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

"We were hoping that Shyra Ely would still be around at 14," Hughes said. "She brings a strong defensive mentality and will help us out on the boards."

A 2004 Kodak All-American, Ely was named to the NCAA Tournament All-Regional Teams all four years and as an All-SEC honoree each year. She finished her career at Tennessee having played in 139 games with 96 starts, tallying 12.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Her 1,673 career points rank ninth on the Lady Vols all-time scoring list and her 940 career rebounds is sixth best in Tennessee history. Ely will graduate in May 2005 with a degree in retail and consumer sciences.

"I was really excited coming into today because I had an inkling I might be headed to the Silver Stars," Ely said. "San Antonio is a city full of culture and I think I would have been disappointed if I ended up anywhere else."

Kraayeveld, a 6-4 center, was an All-Pac 10 First Team selection this year and was named co-MVP of her team. As a senior she ranked sixth in the Pac-10 in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game and was second in the conference in rebounding grabbing 8.3 rebounds per game. As a junior she earned All-Pac 10 honorable mention honors while averaging a double-double with 14.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. For her career, she played in 104 games, averaging 10.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 46.9 percent (390-831) from the field, 37.4 percent (70-187) from three-point range and 74.7 percent (215-288) from the foul line.

"We didn't expect Kraayeveld to be around at 27, but we are extremely happy to have her," Hughes added. "She's a versatile player that has tremendous skills and competes night in and night out."

After the draft the Silver Stars sent Dydek to the Sun in exchange for Feenstra and the Sun's 2006 first round pick in a sign and trade deal. Feenstra was originally selected by the Sun with eighth overall pick in this year's draft.

"We are all appreciative of the things Margo did for this organization, but we are building for the future and this draft definitely helped us do that," Hughes added. "Katie is a player who has tremendous upside who gives us size and is a scoring threat at the low post. She's a great fit for our team."

A two-time AP All-American Honorable Mention selection (2004, 2005) and a three-time Big South Player of the Year (2003, 2004, 2005), Feenstra is a 6-8 center out of Liberty University. During her senior season she led Liberty to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women's Tournament knocking off DePaul and Penn State while averaging 17.8 points and 10.3 rebounds. As a junior she was named the Big South Women's Athlete of the Year and to the Kodak/WBCA All-America Region II Team. She finished her career at Liberty as the Big South Conference's and Flames' all-time leader in blocks (246) and field goal percentage (.622, 764-1,228). A three-time All-Big South First Team selection, Feenstra finished her career averaging 16.9 points and 9.5 rebounds in 109 games.

Dydek spent seven seasons with the Silver Stars/Utah Starzz franchise after being drafted by Utah with the first overall pick in the 1998 WNBA Draft. She is the league's all-time leading shot blocker (655), ranks fifth on the WNBA's all-time rebounding list (1,530) and 19th all-time in points scored (2,457). In her WNBA career, she has appeared in 224 games, averaging 11.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.92 blocks and 1.9 assists in 25.9 minutes per game.

The Silver Stars open training camp on April 24 at the Antioch Sports Complex and Community Center. San Antonio opens the 2005 regular season at home on Saturday, May 21 at the SBC Center when they host Sheryl Swoopes and the Houston Comets at 7:00 p.m.

Fans interested in purchasing Silver Stars season tickets can do so by calling 444-5050 for tickets and information. Full-season ticket prices are $150.30, $294.30, $384.30 and $600.30, while the 10-Game Weekend Pak (Friday, Saturday and Sunday games only) prices are $93.50, $173.50 and $243.50.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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