Storm Selects Alison Lacey In First Round Of 2010 WNBA Draft
April 8, 2010 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Seattle Storm News Release
SEATTLE, Thursday, April 8, 2010 - The Seattle Storm selected Australian Alison Lacey from Iowa State with the 10th pick, Tanisha Smith from Texas A&M with the 22nd pick and Tijana Krivacevic from Serbia with the 34th pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft. The WNBA Draft was held today in Secaucus, N.J., at the NBA Entertainment studios.
Lacey, a 6-foot guard is the first player in Iowa State history to be selected in the first round of the WNBA Draft. The Canberra, Australia native is the first Cyclone to post 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in a career. On March 31, 2010, Lacey was named an Associated Press All-America honorable-mention selection. The Cyclone point guard is the fifth player in school history to earn AP All-America honors.
In addition to leading the Cyclones to a 25-8 overall record and a second consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2010, Lacey posted a career record of 99-39 in her four years at Iowa State, and became just the second Cyclone in school history to record a triple-double, posting 19 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in a win over Iowa. Lacey also led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio for the majority of the 2009-10 campaign and ranked second (3.0) to end the season. Ranked ninth in NCAA Division 1 assists with 6.2 per contest, Lacey scored in double figures 25 times and ranked ninth in Big 12 scoring with 15.8 points per contest.
"We wanted to get some depth in our perimeter and we are very excited to have Alison come to Seattle," Seattle Storm head coach Brian Agler said. "We've coveted Alison for a long time. She made it tough on us. The first time I went to watch her she had a concussion and the second time she was sick, but we had a chance to watch her play on film and in person and we are really impressed with her versatility. She is a smart and efficient player that will give us depth at the point and on the wing."
"I'm very excited about being selected by the Storm in today's draft," said guard Alison Lacey. "I've heard great things about the people and the program in Seattle. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity of playing with my fellow Aussie Lauren Jackson and the rest of my new teammates."
Smith, a 6-foot guard, played one season at Arkansas and one season at Arkansas-Fort Smith prior to transferring to Texas A&M. Smith holds career averages of 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 132 games. An All-Big 12 First Team selection in 2010, Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2009 and a member of the Big 12 All-Tournament Team in 2009, Smith averaged a career-high 15.1 points and 5.4 rebounds during her senior season for the Aggies.
"I think being selected by the Storm is a plus for me," said guard Tanisha Smith. "Their roster is packed with a lot of talented players and their style of play is very similar to that of A&M. I think the experience is going to be great and I can't wait for training camp to begin."
Krivacevic, the daughter of a former Serbian player Dragoljub Krivacevic, is a talented 6-5 center. The Serbian-born 20 year old was dubbed the most improved player in the Hungarian league in 2009. A the age of 18, Krivacevic played for the first time for the Hungarian Senior National Team, and she is poised to become one of Europe's best players at the post position. She scored 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field in a Euroleague Women clash against the group winner Venezia, on Nov. 26, 2008.
Krivacevic is currently averaging 8.6 points, 3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in Euroleague play in 23 minutes per game for Hungary's MKB Euroleasing Sopron.
The Seattle Storm will open its 2010 WNBA schedule on Sunday, May 16 in a 6 p.m. matchup versus the Sparks at KeyArena. The Storm will play on national television four times with all broadcasts airing on ESPN2. Highlighting the Storm's national television coverage is a KeyArena home game against defending WNBA Champion and league MVP Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 27.
Single-game tickets for all preseason and regular season games at KeyArena are currently on sale, starting as low as $14. Single-game, full-season, group tickets and ticket packages can be purchased by visiting stormbasketball.com.
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from April 8, 2010
- Katie Gearlds To Forego 2010 WNBA Season - Seattle Storm
- Sun Follow Charles With Four More Picks - Connecticut Sun
- Silver Stars Select Center Jayne Appel With The No. 5 Pick - San Antonio Stars
- Mercury Selects Tyra Grant And Nyeshia Stevenson In 2010 WNBA Draft - Phoenix Mercury
- Storm Selects Alison Lacey In First Round Of 2010 WNBA Draft - Seattle Storm
- Tina Charles, Monica Wright And Kelsey Griffin Selected As Top Picks In WNBA Draft - WNBA
- Liberty Selects Greene, Houts & Montgomery In 2010 WNBA Draft - New York Liberty
- San Diego State Guard Highlights Fever Draft - Indiana Fever
- Lynx Acquire Connecticut's First and Second Round Picks in 2011 WNBA Draft - Minnesota Lynx
- Mystics Select Jacinta Monroe - Washington Mystics
- Chicago Sky Select Epiphanny Prince Fourth in the 2010 WNBA Draft - Chicago Sky
- Atlanta Dream Draft Has Local, International Flavor - Atlanta Dream
- Sun Add Two More First Round Draft Picks - Connecticut Sun
- Indiana Selects Jene Morris Of San Diego State - Indiana Fever
- Sun Make Tina Charles First Pick In WNBA Draft - Connecticut Sun
- Minnesota Lynx Select Virginia's Monica Wright with Second Overall Selection of 2010 WNBA Draft - Minnesota Lynx
- Tulsa Shock To Host Draft Party At Osage Event - Tulsa Shock
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