Seniors Ugo Oha and Cathy Joens were selected in the WNBA draft Saturday, becoming the second and third GW women’s basketball players to be drafted in the league’s eight-year history.
The Connecticut Sun selected Oha in the second round with the 24th pick overall, and the New York Liberty selected Joens in the third round with the 30th pick overall out of 38 total selections. In 1997, the Sacramento Monarchs drafted GW’s Tajama Abraham-Ngongba in the fourth round.
Oha, who stands 6-foot-4-inches tall and ranked third nationally in blocked shots this year, becomes the Sun’s tallest player. The center won two Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year awards in her collegiate career.
“When I found out, I was really excited, and I didn’t even know that I was only the second player from GW ever drafted,” Oha said. “I felt I had the skills to play in the WNBA. I am just happy that coaches saw that.”
One coach who saw Oha’s potential was Connecticut Sun assistant Scott Hawk.
“We were very happy to see her there,” he said. “When you draft a player, you want a player to have a professional skill. Ugo has a defensive presence and great length.”
On offense, Hawk said he saw improvement in Oha’s game this year. “We hope that she will continue to develop her offensive game.”
The Sun finished its first season in Connecticut last year with a third-place finish in the seven-team Eastern Conference. Previously, the franchise played in Orlando.
“I am just going to go and work hard and try to learn the game, which I hear is a lot faster,” Oha said. “But basketball is basketball. The skills are the same, but I will keep an open mind.”
Joens, a 5-foot-11-inch guard known for her scoring, won the top award for three-point shooters this year and won the A-10 Player of the Year award her junior and senior seasons.
“I am excited,” she said. “I’m going to have a chance to play with a great program (in college) and a great team (in the pros). When I first came to D.C., there was an adjustment period, and I expect that in New York, but I have visited and I have friends there.”
Joens joins a franchise that did not qualify for the playoffs this past season for only the second time in its history and then lost its most notable player, Teresa Weatherspoon, to Los Angeles in the offseason.
“I just want to learn to play at the next level,” Joens said. “I want to learn about the style of play and learn from all the veterans.”
If the two survive training camp and make their respective squads, they will square off for the first time in New York July 31. The two teams will face each other four times during the season.
“It will be nice to see a familiar face from college and I spoke to (Ugo) earlier in the day,” Joens said. “I wish her the best of luck.”
“Most of our conversation was based around excitement,” Oha said. “We didn’t really talk about when we face each other.”
Duquesne’s Candace Futrell was the only other player from the A-10 drafted. After sharing the A-10 Player of the Year award with Joens this past season, Futrell was taken one spot ahead of Joens by the Sun.
