AUBURN HILLS, Mich.�Detroit Shock Head Coach/Director of Player Personnel Bill Laimbeer significantly improved the Shock�s front-line by selecting 6-5 center Ruth Riley of the Miami Sol with the first overall selection in today�s Dispersal Draft.

Riley will participate in a wnba.com on-line fan chat Friday, April 25th at 3:30 p.m. EDT (fans can log onto www.detroitshock.com to participate). In related team news, the Shock, with 541 chances out of 1,000 to win the top pick in the annual draft, was awarded the third and fifth overall draft positions in the annual WNBA Draft. The Draft is tentatively scheduled for Friday, April 25th at 1 p.m. EDT, subject to a signed collective bargaining agreement between the WNBA and the Women�s National Basketball Players Association.

�One of the glaring needs of our franchise was to acquire a center and in getting Ruth Riley in the Dispersal Draft we have cemented that position,� said Laimbeer, entering his first full season as head coach. �Not only was she college Player of the Year her senior season at Notre Dame, but she also has NCAA championship experience. Coupled with Swin Cash, this gives the Shock two champions in which to build the nucleus of our team around. And while we�re disappointed that we missed out on the first two picks of the draft, we believe we will pick up a very fine player at number three and onward and upward from there.�

Riley, drafted by the Miami Sol with the fifth overall pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft, has averaged 6.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, and 1.5 bpg in 22.7 mpg during her two-year professional career. She averaged 8.0 ppg and 5.3 rpg in 2001 three-game Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series versus New York. Despite missing the first six games of the 2002 WNBA season as a result of fractured right pinkie finger, Riley led the Sol in blocks (41) and ranked fourth in the WNBA averaging 1.6 bpg. During her senior season in college, Riley was the winner of the Naismith Award and was named Associated Press Player of the Year while leading Notre Dame to the 2001 NCAA Championship. She recorded 28 points, 13 rebounds, and seven blocks in a 68-66 win over Purdue in the NCAA Championship game and earned NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors.

�I'm very excited about joining the Shock organization,� said Riley, who spent the 2002-03 WNBA off-season playing professional overseas in Valencia, Spain. �The Shock are a young, talented team with great depth and Coach Laimbeer has them playing an aggressive style of play which I should fit right into. Joining a player the caliber of Swin Cash is also exciting...even if she did go to UCONN!

"I'm a Midwest girl, so I know all about what sports and particularly the game of women's basketball mean to young girls and fans in the Midwest...they matter. We're going to make the city of Detroit proud of us. Bottom line, we're going to be an exciting team, and we're going to bring it to The Palace all summer long."

The Cleveland Rockers, with 271 chances out of 1,000, won the 2003 WNBA Draft Lottery and earned the first overall pick. The Sacramento Monarchs, with 67 chances, were awarded the second overall pick, and the Phoenix Mercury, with 121 chances, was awarded the fourth overall selection.

Below is list of players that have been selected with the #3 and #5 overall picks in the WNBA Draft:

All-Time #3 Overall Picks in WNBA History		All-Time #5 Overall Picks in WNBA History
2002	Stacey Dales-Schuman, Washington Mystics	2002	Niiki Teasley,
2001	Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever	2001	Ruth Riley, Miami Sol
2000	Edwina Brown, Detroit	2000	Grace Daley, Minnesota Lynx
1999	Natalie Williams, Utah Starzz	1999	Jennifer Azzi, Detroit Shock
1998	Murriel Page, Washington Mystics	1998	Allison Feaster, Los Angeles Sparks
1997	Jamila Wideman, Los Angeles Sparks	1997	Tammi Reiss, Utah Starzz

Detroit opens up regular season play May 31st at The Palace at 7:30 p.m. versus the Charlotte Sting. Shock season tickets are available by calling 248.377.0100 or by logging onto www.detroitshock.com