Sports / Womensbasketball

WBB: Seattle Storm drafts Lacey with 10th pick

ISU point guard Allison Lacey pushes past a member of the UConn Huskies during the Dayton Regional semifinals on March 28 in the University of Dayton Arena. Lacey was selected by the Seattle Storm with the 10th pick in the WNBA draft. File photo: Rashah McChesney/Iowa State Daily

Kayci Woodley —
April 7, 2010

ISU senior point guard Alison Lacey was selected by the Seattle Storm as the 10th overall pick in the 2010 WNBA draft Thursday. Lacey is the first Cyclone to be chosen as a first-round WNBA draft pick and her selection as 10th is the highest by any ISU women’s player.

“I’m excited,” Lacey said in a news release Thursday. “I’m nervous and anxious to get to training camp to see what it’s like. I’m relieved to know where I’m going. It’s been a long day and I have a lot to figure out now.

Last season the Storm finished with a 20-14 overall record. Two other Storm players call Australia their home country, making it an easy fit for the Canberra, Australia, native. Coach Brian Agler has had the reigns of the Seattle Storm since January 2008 and was a point guard himself when he played at Wittenberg University.

“I’m not surprised where she got picked,” said ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said in a news release Thursday. “Lots of teams liked her, but Seattle is the perfect fit for Aus [Lacey’s nickname]. Brian Agler is a great coach and a great guy that really knows Big 12 basketball.”

The Seattle Storm begins its 2010 schedule May 2 with a preseason game against the Phoenix Mercury. Former Cyclone Lindsey Wilson is currently listed on the Storm’s roster, along with WNBA standout Sue Bird, who played for the University of Connecticut in her college days.

Agler said in a news release he was looking to “get some depth in our perimeter” and Lacey, a leader for the Cyclones from beyond the arc, should be a perfect fit. The 6-foot guard finished ninth in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage and 11th in 3-point field goals made.

2010 WNBA First Round Picks

1. Tina Charles — Connecticut Sun

2. Monica Wright — Minnesota Lynx

3. Kelsey Griffin — Minnesota Lynx

4. Epiphanny Prince — Chicago Sky

5. Jayne Appel — Stanford

6. Jacinta Monroe — Washington Mystics

7. Danielle McCray — Connecticut Sun

8. Andrea Riley — Los Angeles Sparks

9. Chanel Mokango — Atlanta Dream

10. Alison Lacey — Seattle Storm

11. Jene Morris — Indiana Fever