SECAUCUS, N.J. — Aiysha Smith, a senior on the 2002-03 LSU Lady Tigers basketball team, was selected by the Washington Mystics as the seventh overall pick in the 2003 WNBA draft on Friday afternoon. DeTrina White and Ke-Ke Tardy were also selected in the draft’s second round.
Smith, a 6-2 post player from Detroit, Mich., averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds this past season and helped the Lady Tigers to a 30-4 record, an SEC Tournament title and an Elite Eight appearance.
White, a 5-11 post player from Lafayette, La., was selected as the 20th overall pick by the Indiana Fever. She averaged 8.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game this past season and averaged 10.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game during her career with the Lady Tigers. She was also one of two LSU players to score over 1,000 points, grab over 800 rebounds and record 100 blocked shots in a career.
Tardy, a 6-1 post player from Jackson, Miss., was taken by the San Antonio Silver Stars as the 25th chosen. She averaged 7.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game for the Lady Tigers this past season and 8.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in her career at LSU.
Washington finished third in the Eastern Division last season with a 17-15 record. They fell to the New York Liberty in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Mystics, coached by Marianne Stanley, open the 2003 season at Minnesota on May 9 for a preseason game and visit Charlotte on May 23 for the regular season opener.
The Indiana Fever, coached by Nell Fortner, took White with the eighth pick of the second round.
LSU is now the only school to have three players taken in the draft as of the end of the second round.
The Indiana Fever, coached by Nell Fortner, posted a 16-16 record last season and finished fourth in the Eastern Division. They open the preseason on May 8 at Charlotte and begin the regular season on May 29 also at Charlotte.
The San Antonio Silver Stars, formerly the Utah Starzz, are coached by Candi Harvey. They open the 2003 season with a preseason game at Los Angeles on May 10 and begin the regular season on May 24 against Seattle.
Smith became LSU’s second first-round pick in the history of the WNBA.
Marie Ferdinand was taken as the eighth overall pick by the Utah Starzz in 2001. Smith is also the fifth LSU player drafted by the WNBA, joining April Brown (51st pick in 2001), Katrina Hibbert (57th pick in 2000), Elaine Powell (50th pick in 1999) and Ferdinand.