WNBA Draft

UM guard joins fellow alum with Fever

See where UM guard Adrienne Motley was selected in Thursday night’s draft.

CORAL GABLES — As the names kept scrolling by and the minutes passed, Adrienne Motley got increasingly nervous.

She paced the room repeatedly. Talked things through with her father Adrian who was at her side.

Finally, Motley’s name appeared on the screen and one of the most decorated players in Hurricanes women’s basketball history could add another line to her glittering resume: WNBA draftee.

Motley became just the fifth Hurricane drafted into the WNBA on Thursday night when she was selected by the Indiana Fever in the third round round with the 32nd overall pick.

In Indiana, she’ll join a roster that features another Hurricane — former Miami standout Shenise Johnson, whom Motley has sought advice from more than once during her time in Coral Gables.

“This is a blessing, a total blessing,” Motley said. “I’m blessed to be there, whatever pick it was. I can’t wait to get out there and show what I’ve been doing with my game.”

Motley is the first Hurricane to be drafted since both Johnson and Riquna Williams were each selected in 2012, with Johnson going fifth overall and Williams 17th.

A 5-foot-9 guard, Motley averaged 13.3 points last season and led the Hurricanes in scoring each of her four years at Miami. She is the sixth-leading scorer in program history, was a threetime All-ACC pick and an ACC All-Freshman Team selection in 2013.

She is now headed to an Indiana team that finished the regular season last year with a 17-17 record and advanced to the first round of the WNBA playoffs. She’ll also join a roster that features two former South Florida high school stars: former Benjamin High standout Erlana Larkins and former Parkway Academy standout Erica Wheeler.

“It’s a good starting point for her,” Hurricanes coach Katie Meier said of Motley’s selection. “She was so consistent, she played with so much pressure. All the big games she had, Notre Dame, Washington in the NCAA Tournament [in 2015]. She had her biggest games against monster opponents. Now she’s like ‘I need to prove myself at the next level.’ And I wanted her to get that opportunity.”

Over the course of the next few weeks, Motley — who hails from Newport News, Virginia — will balance preparing for her first WNBA training camp with wrapping up her studies at Miami. She is set to graduate next month with a degree in electronic media.

“It’s going to be hectic. A lot of basketball, a lot of getting better,” Motley said. “I’m just trying to be a better version of myself and to be prepared to show what I can do. But I’m ready. I’m really ready and I’m excited.”

Motley