Six Former LSU Lady Tigers On 2010 WNBA Opening Day Rosters, Second Most In The SEC
A total of six former LSU women’s basketball players are on 2010 WNBA Opening Day rosters, including Connecticut Sun rookie Allison Hightower, the league announced on Friday. LSU’s six players represent the second most among teams in the Southeastern Conference, trailing only Tennessee who put 10 former players on rosters. Georgia is third with four representatives. Dating back to the league’s inception in 1997, LSU has produced 15 players on WNBA active rosters. The WNBA begins its 14th season at 1 p.m. CT Saturday when the defending champion Phoenix Mercury host the Los Angeles Sparks on ESPN2. Hightower, a 2010 State Farm Honorable Mention All-American, was drafted by the Sun with the 15th overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft. After a solid preseason camp, the former All-SEC performer found a spot on the roster. Hightower makes her official debut at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday when Connecticut hosts the Chicago Sky. Former two-time State Farm All-American center Sylvia Fowles begins her third season with the Chicago Sky after becoming a first-time All-Star in 2009. Fowles was a member of the All-Rookie and All-Defensive Team in 2008. In two seasons, she has averaged 10.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Last season, the 6-foot-6 center led the league in field goal percentage (.599) and ranked second in defensive rebounds per game with 5.7. Fowles is poised for another all-star season as one of the WNBA’s premier players. Temeka Johnson seeks to defend her 2009 WNBA championship as a member of the Phoenix Mercury. Johnson resigned with the Mercury last month and begins her sixth season in the league.
The 2005 Lieberman Award winner as the nation’s top collegiate point guard, Johnson became the second former Lady Tiger to win a WNBA championship when the Mercury bested Indiana in the best-of-seven finals, 4-2. “This is the most secure I’ve felt since being in the WNBA,” Johnson said. “We never know what will happen in the future, but this has felt like home since last year. I love my teammates, the ownership, the coaches, the staff, the fans, everyone.” Johnson started all 11 of Phoenix’s playoff games, posting 7.5 points and 3.1 assists per contest. She owns WNBA averages of 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 134 career games. Scholanda Robinson signed a free agent contract with the Tulsa Shock, a franchise that begins its inaugural season on Saturday. Robinson is playing in her fifth WNBA season after four successful years with the Sacramento Monarchs. She has averaged 6.1 points and 1.3 boards in 130 career games. Robinson pulled down a career-best 1.6 rebounds last season in her final season with Sacramento. Marie Ferdinand-Harris is the veteran of the former Lady Tigers in the league. Ferdinand opens her ninth WNBA season and her third with the Los Angeles Sparks. She has averaged in double-figures during her entire career with 10.4 points in 241 games. Ferdinand has reached the WNBA playoffs in each of the past three seasons. Seimone Augustus, the two-time National Player of the Year at LSU, is on the opening day roster with the Minnesota Lynx for the fifth consecutive year since she was drafted No. 1 overall in 2006. Augustus will be sidelined for at least the first month of the season. She underwent surgery in her abdomen to remove three non-cancerous fibroids. Augustus, a two-time All-Star, could return to the floor in June. In four years, she has posted a league-best 21.2 points per game even though her 2009 season was cut short due to a knee injury. Roneeka Hodges, who played for LSU from 2001-03 but finished her career at Florida State, was named to the San Antonio Silver Stars roster. Hodges is in her sixth WNBA season after stints in Houston and Minnesota. 2010 WNBA Lady Tigers On Opening Day Rosters
Seimone Augustus, Minnesota Lynx, Fifth Season
Marie Ferdinand-Harris, Los Angeles Sparks, Ninth Season
Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Sky, Center, Third Season
Allison Hightower, Connecticut Sun, Rookie Season
Temeka Johnson, Phoenix Mercury, Sixth Season
Scholanda Robinson, Tulsa Shock, Fifth Season
SEC Players on 2010 WNBA Opening Day Rosters
Tennessee 10
LSU 6
Georgia 4
Auburn 2
Alabama 1
Arkansas 1
Florida 1
Ole Miss 1
Mississippi State 1
