Alexander Drafted 8th Overall by San Antonio
4/15/2013 8:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
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San Antonio Silver Stars Release
BRISTOL, Conn. -Â Syracuse senior center Kayla Alexander was selected by the San Antonio Silver Stars with the eighth pick in the first round of the WNBA Draft Monday night. The Orange's all-time leading scorer became the second player in program history to be drafted by a WNBA team and the first to be selected in the first round.
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"I give God all the glory right now," Alexander said. "I am extremely thankful and blessed for this opportunity. When you work hard, dreams can and do come true. I am so thankful right now and beyond excited."
The Milton, Ontario native joins Beth Record as the only SU players to get drafted by a WNBA club. Record was selected in 2001 in the fourth round (64th overall) by the Los Angeles Sparks.
"Kayla Alexander has good upside, she is a talented interior scorer," Silver Stars head coach and general manager Dan Hughes said. "She has excellent length, is a good rebounder and has a good focus to be a better basketball player, which was important to us. She has had a stellar career at Syracuse really taking the Orange to new levels in women's basketball. She is an excellent young lady who is a really good student of the game."
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Alexander rewrote the SU record book in her four seasons in Orange. She became Syracuse's all-time leading scorer this season, as well as the first player in program history to surpass 2,000 career points, finishing with 2,024. She is also SU's all-time leader in blocks (350), field goals (736), free throws made (552) and games played (140). Alexander ranks second in SU history in rebounding with 970, trailing only Michael's 996. She and fellow senior Elashier Hall and Carmen Tyson-Thomas comprise the first class of three 1,000-point scorers in program history as well as the most wins by a class in program history (96-44, .686).
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Alexander was an All-BIG EAST First Team selection in 2012-13, averaging 17.9 points per game, second in the BIG EAST; 8.7 rebounds per game, third in the conference; 2.9 blocks per game, first in the conference; and shooting .518 from the field, ninth-best in the conference. She set Syracuse single-season records for points (573) and field goals (211). Alexander was named BIG EAST Player of the Week twice and garnered BIG EAST Honor Roll distinction four times. She finished the season with 12 double-doubles.
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The Milton, Ontario native led head coach Quentin Hillsman's Orange to a 24-8 overall record, the best winning percentage in program history in the NCAA era (.750), and to its fifth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Orange was ranked in the AP Top 25 for seven-straight weeks, finishing the season at No. 22, while ranking in the coaches poll for 10 weeks in a row, also finishing at No. 22.
Alexander will join Iasia Hemingway, Juanita Ward, Vaida Sipaviciute, Fantasia Goodwin, Julie McBride, Leigh Aziz and Beth Record as former Syracuse players who have been members of WNBA rosters. Hemingway attended training camp with the New York Liberty in 2012 and Ward was with the Tulsa Shock in training camp in 2010. Sipaviciute (Los Angeles Sparks) and Goodwin (Detroit Shock) both received training camp contracts in 2008. McBride (Chicago Sky) and Aziz (Indiana Fever) signed free agent contracts in 2006 and 2003, respectively, and Record was a second round draft pick of the Sparks in 2001.
San Antonio is coming off a 21-13 season in 2012 in which it finished third in the Western Conference before losing to Los Angeles in the first round of the playoffs, 2-0, in a best-of-three series.
San Antonio Silver Stars Release
BRISTOL, Conn. -Â Syracuse senior center Kayla Alexander was selected by the San Antonio Silver Stars with the eighth pick in the first round of the WNBA Draft Monday night. The Orange's all-time leading scorer became the second player in program history to be drafted by a WNBA team and the first to be selected in the first round.
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"I give God all the glory right now," Alexander said. "I am extremely thankful and blessed for this opportunity. When you work hard, dreams can and do come true. I am so thankful right now and beyond excited."
The Milton, Ontario native joins Beth Record as the only SU players to get drafted by a WNBA club. Record was selected in 2001 in the fourth round (64th overall) by the Los Angeles Sparks.
"Kayla Alexander has good upside, she is a talented interior scorer," Silver Stars head coach and general manager Dan Hughes said. "She has excellent length, is a good rebounder and has a good focus to be a better basketball player, which was important to us. She has had a stellar career at Syracuse really taking the Orange to new levels in women's basketball. She is an excellent young lady who is a really good student of the game."
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Alexander rewrote the SU record book in her four seasons in Orange. She became Syracuse's all-time leading scorer this season, as well as the first player in program history to surpass 2,000 career points, finishing with 2,024. She is also SU's all-time leader in blocks (350), field goals (736), free throws made (552) and games played (140). Alexander ranks second in SU history in rebounding with 970, trailing only Michael's 996. She and fellow senior Elashier Hall and Carmen Tyson-Thomas comprise the first class of three 1,000-point scorers in program history as well as the most wins by a class in program history (96-44, .686).
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Alexander was an All-BIG EAST First Team selection in 2012-13, averaging 17.9 points per game, second in the BIG EAST; 8.7 rebounds per game, third in the conference; 2.9 blocks per game, first in the conference; and shooting .518 from the field, ninth-best in the conference. She set Syracuse single-season records for points (573) and field goals (211). Alexander was named BIG EAST Player of the Week twice and garnered BIG EAST Honor Roll distinction four times. She finished the season with 12 double-doubles.
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The Milton, Ontario native led head coach Quentin Hillsman's Orange to a 24-8 overall record, the best winning percentage in program history in the NCAA era (.750), and to its fifth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Orange was ranked in the AP Top 25 for seven-straight weeks, finishing the season at No. 22, while ranking in the coaches poll for 10 weeks in a row, also finishing at No. 22.
Alexander will join Iasia Hemingway, Juanita Ward, Vaida Sipaviciute, Fantasia Goodwin, Julie McBride, Leigh Aziz and Beth Record as former Syracuse players who have been members of WNBA rosters. Hemingway attended training camp with the New York Liberty in 2012 and Ward was with the Tulsa Shock in training camp in 2010. Sipaviciute (Los Angeles Sparks) and Goodwin (Detroit Shock) both received training camp contracts in 2008. McBride (Chicago Sky) and Aziz (Indiana Fever) signed free agent contracts in 2006 and 2003, respectively, and Record was a second round draft pick of the Sparks in 2001.
San Antonio is coming off a 21-13 season in 2012 in which it finished third in the Western Conference before losing to Los Angeles in the first round of the playoffs, 2-0, in a best-of-three series.
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