Vegas takes Hokies guard at No. 23
Virginia Tech guard Aisha Sheppard became the highest draft pick in Hokies women’s basketball history when the Las Vegas Aces made her the 23rd overall selection of the WNBA Draft on Monday night.
Sheppard, Virginia Tech’s all-time leading scorer and a three-time All-ACC selection, is the sixth Hokies player to taken in the WNBA Draft. She averaged 13.3 points a game and hit a school-record 96 3-pointers last season.
The Alexandria native finished her career with 402 3-pointers, which ranks first on the ACC all-time list.
Meanwhile, moments before Rhyne Howard went to Atlanta with the No. 1 pick in the draft, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league is working very hard to help bring Brittney Griner back to the United States.
Griner, one of the league’s biggest stars, has been detained in Russia since arriving at a Moscow airport in mid-February. Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
“I want to take a moment to reiterate the WNBA’s support for Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner,” Engelbert said before the draft started. “Please know that getting her home safely continues to be our top priority and while we are facing an extraordinarily complex challenge, there is strength in community, especially the WNBA.”
Howard, who was the first Kentucky player to go No. 1 in the draft, will be close to home, having grown up about 90 minutes from Atlanta.
“For it to be so close is huge. A lot of family and close friends can come and support me,” Howard said. “To go first, I don’t have words for it right now. Still shaking. Super exciting and proud of myself and thankful for everyone that has been on this journey with me and helped me get here.”
The Dream traded up two spots last week to acquire the No. 1 pick from the Washington Mystics.
Atlanta finished 8-24 last season and has missed the playoffs four of the past five years. The franchise got new ownership last year and brought in a new coach in Tanisha Wright and new general manager Dan Padover. The Dream also had the No. 1 pick in 2009 and used it to draft Angel McCoughtry.
Indiana, which had four picks in the first round, drafted NaLyssa Smith from Baylor with the No. 2 pick and her Bears teammate Queen Egbo at 10. The Fever also snagged Louisville’s Emily Engstler at No. 4 and Lexie Hull of Stanford at 6.
The Fever had the worst record in the league last year at 6-26. Indiana hasn’t had much luck in the draft the past couple years, with none of the team’s first-round picks from the last three seasons still on the roster.
The Mystics chose Shakira Austin from Ole Miss third and New York drafted Oregon’s Nyara Sabally in between Indiana’s top two selections.
Dallas took Veronica Burton of Northwestern with the seventh pick. Las Vegas, which made a trade with Minnesota on Sunday, drafted Mya Hollingshed of Colorado eighth.
The Aces then took Florida Gulf Coast’s Kierstan Bell at 11. She’s the first player from that school ever to get drafted into the WNBA.
Bell won the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award the last two years and now will get a chance to play for her.
Los Angeles drafted Tennessee’s Rae Burrell ninth and Connecticut finished off the first round by picking Nia Clouden of Michigan State.
The WNBA season tips off on May 6, with training camps opening later this week.