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The 2005 WNBA Draft Live 2005 Draft HQ Storm News Archive

Tanisha Wright

“We were surprised and pleased to get Tanisha Wright with the 12th pick,” Storm Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel Anne Donovan said. “Defensively we are a more solid team and we’re excited about all of our draft selections and look forward to training camp and another exciting summer of Storm basketball.”

Wright

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Wright was an AP All-America honorable mention as a junior and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team in 2004 and 2005. She averaged 14.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 134 career games for the Lady Lions. Wright was also named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for three consecutive years (2003, 2004 and 2005).

“I am very excited and overwhelmed about the opportunity to join the defending champion Storm, which has so much talent with Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird and Betty Lennox,” Wright said. “Training camp begins in nearly a week and I’m looking forward to working with Coach Donovan and the team.”

Battle

In the second round, Seattle selected 6-0 forward Ashley Battle from Connecticut with the 25th overall pick. Battle averaged 7.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 134 career games for the Huskies. A native of Pittsburgh, Penn., Battle earned a gold medal as a member of the 2000 USA Junior World Championship qualifying team and was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2003.

The Storm chose Steffanie Blackmon, a 6-2 forward from the 2005 NCAA Champion Baylor women’s basketball team with their 38th overall selection in the third round. Blackmon, who earned AP All-America third team and All-Big 12 First Team honors in 2005, averaged 14.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 132 career games for Baylor.

Blackmon

Single-game tickets for Storm games are available to be purchased through TicketMaster, by logging on to the new storm.wnba.com or by calling 1-877-WNBA-TIX. Storm tickets are also available at the Sonics & Storm Team Shop located at 312 First Ave on KeyArena’s West Plaza.

The defending WNBA Champion Storm will open their 2005 season on ABC-TV against their Western Conference rival Los Angeles Sparks at KeyArena on Saturday, May 21 at 1 p.m. The following weekend, Seattle will host the Houston Comets on Friday, May 27 and the San Antonio Silver Stars on Sunday, May 29.

In the season opener against the Sparks, the 2004 WNBA Championship banner will be raised to the KeyArena rafters. The festivities will also feature Storm players receiving their championship rings.

The Seattle Sonics & Storm manages the Puget Sound region’s professional basketball franchises – the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. The organization oversees all sales, marketing, finance, public relations and basketball operations for the teams. The Basketball Club of Seattle LLC owns both teams.