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Seattle Storm

Storm selects Walker and Freshour in 2009 WNBA Draft

April 9, 2009 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Seattle Storm News Release


SEATTLE, Thursday, April 9, 2009 - The Seattle Storm selected Ashley Walker from California with the 12th pick and Mara Freshour from Florida State with the 38th pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft. The WNBA Draft was held today in Secaucus, N.J., at the NBA Entertainment studios.

Walker, a 6-1 forward, became the first player in Cal history ever drafted by a WNBA team when she was selected by the Storm in the first round of the 2009 WNBA Draft. Walker ended her Cal career as the second-leading scorer in program history with 2,142 career points. She is the Golden Bear's all-time leading rebounder with 1,117 boards in her 120 games in the blue and gold. She was named a USCBWA All-American and an Associated Press Third-Team All-American in 2009, as well as receiving an honorable mention nod in All-American voting from the WBCA. She was a first-team All-Pac-10 member and All-Defensive Pac-10 honoree after leading the conference in scoring and ranking third in rebounding.

Walker averaged 16.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in four seasons at Cal. The Stockton, Calif., native guided the Golden Bears to their first-ever Sweet 16 appearance in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

"We're really excited about getting the opportunity to have Ashley Walker in Seattle," said Storm Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel Brian Agler. "I've seen her play numerous times and I really like her energy and versatility as a player; she scores, she rebounds. Ashley is the type of person that we like to have as a member of our team and I think she has a chance to be a very good player in the WNBA. She's a tough guard with the ability to post up and score and she can score from the three-point line. It's going to be interesting and exciting to have her in training camp."

"I'm very excited about the outcome of today's draft and can't wait to get to Seattle for training camp," said forward Ashley Walker. "The Storm is a great team and a good fit for me as a player. I'm really looking forward to playing with Sue Bird, Swin Cash and the rest of my new teammates."

Freshour, a 6-1 guard, is a talented outside shooter, hitting 39.5 percent of her threes during her career and finishing second in Seminoles history in threes. Freshour is also a very bright player who was honored as ACC All-Academic each of her first three years. A captain as a senior, she played in more games (131) than any other Florida State player and was named Third Team All-ACC as a senior. She is one of only two Seminoles ever to reach the NCAA Tournament four straight times. Freshour was named to the ACC All-Tournament Second Team, the 2009 All-ACC Third Team and became the 23rd player in FSU history to score 1,000 points in her career.

The Nashville, Ind., native averaged 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game her senior season and 8.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 2.2 apg in four seasons with the Seminoles.

"Mara Freshour was the first player I saw play this year, when I watched the Seminoles practice in October," said Agler. "Mara is a very versatile player; she can play the one, two or the three and is an exceptional three-point shooter and a big, strong guard. She really has a great competitive attitude. I'm excited for her to have the opportunity to come to Seattle and earn a spot on the Storm's roster."

The Seattle Storm will open its 2009 WNBA schedule on Saturday, June 6 in a 1 p.m. matchup vs. the Monarchs at ARCO Arena in Sacramento. The Storm returns to Seattle on Sunday, June 7 for its first KeyArena home game at 6 p.m., also against the Monarchs. The team's June 7, 2009 home opener falls on the 10th anniversary of the city of Seattle being selected as one of four cities to receive a WNBA expansion team in 2000.

Beginning today, for a limited time, fans can purchase $10 single-game tickets as part of the 10th Anniversary Tipoff Offer. This offer allows fans to purchase $10 single-game tickets for the following KeyArena home games:

Thurs., May 21 vs. Sacremento (preseason)

Sun., June 19 vs. Minnesota

Tues., July 7 vs. San Antonio

Thurs., July 9 vs. Sacramento

Sun., July 12 vs. Chicago

Wed., July 15 vs. Detroit

Tues., Aug. 4 vs. Phoenix

Tues., Aug. 25 vs. Washington

Thurs., Aug. 27 vs. Connecticut

Thurs., Sept. 10 vs. Phoenix

The 10th Anniversary Tipoff Offer is available only through Ticketmaster and all inventory are baseline tickets and will reflect a savings between $4-$8 per ticket. This offer is good through Tuesday, April 27. For additional information about the 10th Anniversary Tipoff Offer, please log on to storm.wnba.com.

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