NEW YORK (AP) — The party isn't over for UCLA's national champions. The Bruins are having another big celebration at the WNBA draft.
Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice were taken with picks Nos. 4-6 on Monday night, barely a week after helping the Bruins win their first NCAA championship.
The 6-foot-7 Betts was selected by the Washington Mystics, with Jaquez then taken by the Chicago Sky. The expansion Toronto Tempo made Rice their first draft
pick with the No. 6 selection.
With coach Cori Close sitting up front near her players, the Bruins kept having reasons to stand up and cheer.
Betts said she wasn't surprised, having watched how hard her teammates worked.
“This team is just so special and we knew the type of players we had on the team,” the All-America center said.
UCLA went 37-1 and was hoping to make WNBA history by becoming the first team to have six players selected in the draft.
Gianna Kneepkens and Angela Dugalic were also invited by the WNBA to draft night, and Charlisse Leger-Walker joined her teammates in New York.
Tennessee, in 1999 and again in 2008, had five players selected in the draft, as did Notre Dame in 2019 and South Carolina in 2023.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
