WNBA Draft 2003
| WNBA Draft 2003 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| overview | |||
| date | April 24, 2003 | ||
| place | Secaucus , New Jersey , USA | ||
| Round | 3 | ||
| Selected players | 42 | ||
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| 1st position |
 LaToya Thomas Elected By: Cleveland Rockers |
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| 2nd position |
Chantelle Anderson Elected By: Sacramento Monarchs |
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| 3rd position |
Cheryl Ford Elected By: Detroit Shock |
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WNBA Draft
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The seventh WNBA Draft took place on April 24, 2003 at NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus , New Jersey , United States . The order of selection was determined in a lottery .
The 2003 draft
After the 2002 season , the owners of the Miami Sol and Portland Fire announced that they no longer wanted to fund the team. The WNBA did not find a new owner for the team, which is why the players could be selected by the other teams in the league in a dispersal draft on the same day of the WNBA draft .
Thus, on April 24th, the WNBA Draft and a dispersal draft took place. After the Cleveland Rockers won the lottery before the Sacramento Monarchs , the Rockers had the right to choose the first player. The Rockers picked LaToya Thomas from Mississippi State University . The monarchs voted for Chantelle Anderson of Vanderbilt University in second place .
In total, the 14 franchises secured the rights to 42 players. The United States made up the majority with 39 players.
From this season on there were only three draw rounds in the WNBA Draft for the first time and not four as before.
Dispersal Draft
| Player | nationality | WNBA team | previous WNBA team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruth Riley (C) |
United States
|
Detroit Shock | Miami Sol |
| 2 | Sheri Sam (F / G) |
United States
|
Minnesota Lynx | Miami Sol |
| 3 | Betty Lennox (G) |
United States
|
Cleveland Rockers | Miami Sol |
| 4th | Tamicha Jackson (G) |
United States
|
Phoenix Mercury | Portland Fire |
| 5 | DeMya Walker (F) |
United States
|
Sacramento Monarchs | Portland Fire |
| 6th | Debbie Black (G) |
United States
|
Connecticut Sun | Miami Sol |
| 7th | Sylvia Crawley (C) |
United States
|
Indiana Fever | Portland Fire |
| 8th | Jenny Mowe (C) |
United States
|
Washington Mystics | Portland Fire |
| 9 | Alisa Burras (F) |
United States
|
Seattle Storm | Portland Fire |
| 10 | Pollyanna Johns Kimbrough (F) |
United States
|
Charlotte Sting | Miami Sol |
| 11 | Elena Baranova (F) |
 Russia
|
New York Liberty | Miami Sol |
| 12 | LaQuanda Barksdale (G / F) |
United States
|
San Antonio Silver Stars | Portland Fire |
| 13 | Ukari Figgs (G) |
United States
|
Houston Comets | Portland Fire |
| 14th | Jackie Stiles (G) |
United States
|
Los Angeles Sparks | Portland Fire |
WNBA Draft
Round 1
| Pick | Player | nationality | WNBA team | College / Junior / Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LaToya Thomas (F) |
United States
|
Cleveland Rockers | Mississippi State University |
| 2 | Chantelle Anderson (C) |
United States
|
Sacramento Monarchs | Vanderbilt University |
| 3 | Cheryl Ford (C) |
United States
|
Detroit Shock | Louisiana Tech University |
| 4th | Plenette Pierson (F) |
United States
|
Phoenix Mercury | Texas Tech University |
| 5 | Kara Lawson (G) |
United States
|
Detroit Shock | University of Tennessee |
| 6th | Gwen Jackson (F) |
United States
|
Indiana Fever | University of Tennessee |
| 7th | Aiysha Smith (C) |
United States
|
Washington Mystics | LSU |
| 8th | Jung Sun-min (C) |
 South Korea
|
Seattle Storm | Gwangju Sinsegye Coolcats ( WKBL ) |
| 9 | Jocelyn Penn (F) |
United States
|
Charlotte Sting | University of South Carolina |
| 10 | Molly Creamer (G) |
United States
|
New York Liberty | Bucknell University |
| 11 | Coretta Brown (G) |
United States
|
San Antonio Silver Stars | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| 12 | Allison Curtin (G) |
United States
|
Houston Comets | University of Tulsa |
