The women’s basketball team was one of six teams in the nation to have two players drafted in the Women’s National Basketball Association 2007 Draft on Wednesday afternoon.
Senior center Gillian Goring and senior guard Ashley Key were selected in the third round at picks No. 32 and No. 35 overall, respectively. The draft, which was held in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Renaissance Hotel, featured three rounds and 39 picks total.
The Washington Mystics selected Goring, while the Indiana Fever selected Key just three picks later.
Goring, who was one of 22 players invited to attend the draft, said her selection came from her hard work during the season and in the postseason workouts.
“It is an honor to be drafted today by Washington,” Goring said, according to a press release Wednesday afternoon. “I worked hard all year and in the Pre-Draft Camp earlier in the week to prove that I can play at this level. All I have to do is come out and work hard during training camp.”
The 6-foot-7 center averaged 10.1 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game during her final season for the Wolfpack.
Goring finished her final two college years at State after three years of bouncing around. Out of high school, she was one of the top-ranked prospects in the nation and committed to Connecticut. Then, after not qualifying, she ended up at a junior college in Arkansas before arriving at State in 2005.
While Goring was at the hotel during the draft, Key sat in her team’s locker room in Reynolds Coliseum. She said the team was there to watch Goring get picked, but when her name popped up, she could hardly believe it.
“My name comes up, and I’m sitting there watching it on television, and my teammates just start jumping me,” Key said in the release.
Key said she had no clue her name was going to be called.
“I’m feeling like I am watching somebody else’s life, not mine. I was watching the draft to see where GG got picked. I wasn’t even thinking about me at all, just for GG,” she said.
She finished her career 21st in all-time school history in points with 1,072. Even though she only averaged 9.6 points per game this season, Key’s best quality was her defense, as she was selected to three consecutive All-ACC Defensive teams.
During the ACC Tournament, she was selected to the All-ACC Tournament first team after averaging 16.3 points per game during the three-day run.
Also in the state, North Carolina and Duke were two of the six teams that had two players selected in the WNBA Draft.
Duke’s Lindsey Harding went first overall to the Phoenix Mercury, while her teammate Alison Bales went No. 9 overall to Indiana, the same team that drafted Key.
For the Tar Heels, Ivory Latta went No. 11 overall to the Detroit Shock, while the San Antonio Silver Stars selected Camille Little at No. 17.
