RILEY RAINS / SPORTS EDITOR

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft kicked off on April 15 with Paige Bueckers securing the first pick slot. Bueckers  is a senior guard at the University of Connecticut and will graduate in May. She averaged 19.8 points per game and shook the world with her impressive skills throughout college. In 2019, Bueckers spoke to Sport Slam about her career goals.

“Senior year in college, probably winning a national championship and then preparing for the WNBA draft,” Bueckers stated. “[I’m] hoping to go first pick.” 

Bueckers accomplished all of these goals, earning a recent national championship trophy for the Huskies. Bueckers will be competing with the Dallas  Wings after graduation.

“To be where my feet are tonight, and to share this moment with the people I love, it just means everything,” Bueckers said.

USD sophomore, Sophia Raia, shared her thoughts on Bueckers as a player. 

“I think her mindset and leadership makes her stand out even more,” Raia said. “She is bigger than   dribbling a basketball.”

The second pick of the WNBA draft was Dominique Malonga, who will be playing for the Seattle Storm, and the third pick was Sonia Citron, who will be competing with the Washington Mystics.

One large shock from the draft was the omission of Sedona Prince from any picks. Prince played basketball at three different schools: University of Texas, University of Oregon and Texas Christian University. She had a large social media presence and was “canceled” for allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault. ESPN reported that while Prince had been a highly touted prospect, her draft was complicated by these factors. Prince remains undrafted and denies all allegations.

With women’s college basketball coming to a close, all eyes will be on the top picks and how they fare in the big leagues.

Bueckers hugging Geno Auriemma, head coach, after winning the national championship. Photo courtesy of @paigebueckers/Instagram