Walton Selected By Los Angeles In WNBA Draft
April 15, 2016 | Women's Basketball
WNBA Draft Central
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Washington's Talia Walton was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks with the fifth pick of the third round (No. 29 overall) in Thursday's WNBA Draft. Walton becomes the highest drafted player in UW history.
Walton was on hand at the draft at the Mohegan Sun Arena with Husky head coach Mike Neighbors and participated in the buildup to the draft.
She'll head to the Sparks who finished 14-20 last season and placed fourth in the Western Conference.
Walton, a 6-2 guard/forward finished her five-year career as the one of the most outstanding players in Washington program history earlier this month at the Final Four in Indianapolis. Although the Dawgs fell in the National Semifinal, Walton was magnificent, scoring 29 points on 8-9 3-point shooting. The eight 3's were a Final Four record, while she was also named to the All-Final Four Team along with UConn All-Americans, Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, Morgan Tuck and Syracuse guard Brittney Sykes.
The Federal Way native ends her Washington career among the UW top-five all-time in points, rebounds, 3-pointers and blocked shots. Her 1,819 points and 909 rebounds both rank fifth in Washington history, the only player in the top-five in both. Add in her 254 3-pointers, second all-time at Washington and a school record 177 blocked shots and Walton has been arguably the most versatile and productive player in UW history.
Walton becomes the third Husky to be selected in the WNBA Draft all-time and the highest overall selection. Rhonda Smith and Megan Franza were the other Huskies to be selected with Smith being taken in the third round and 46th overall by the Sacramento Monarchs in 2000, while Franza was taken in the fourth round and 61st overall by the Phoenix Mercury.
Overall, six Huskies have played in the WNBA with Walton hoping to become the seventh. The Dawgs to have WNBA experience are Laure Savasta (Sacramento Monarchs, 1997), Rhonda Smith (Monarchs, 2000), Jamie Redd (Seattle Storm, 2000-02), Amber Hall (Portland Fire, 2002), Giuliana Mendiola (Monarchs, 2004) and Kristen O'Neil (Storm, 2008).
Walton will head to Los Angeles in the near future for training camp. The Sparks open the preseason on Saturday, May 7, against the Atlanta Dream. The regular season opener is against the Seattle Storm on Sunday, May 15, at the Staples Center. Los Angeles' first trip to Seattle to face the Storm is Friday, August 26, at KeyArena. The Sparks also play in Seattle on Sunday, September 11.
