Aifuwa Drafted No. 35 Overall By Las Vegas Aces In WNBA Draft
BATON ROUGE – LSU’s Faustine Aifuwa was taken No. 35 overall during the third round in the WNBA Draft on Monday night by the Las Vegas Aces, joining teammate Khayla Pointer to be drafted by the Aces this year and former Tiger Theresa Plaisance who signed with the Aces during the offseason.
The last time LSU had two players drafted in the same WNBA Draft was in 2008. Pointer and Aifuwa became the 19th and 20th players drafted to the WNBA. They are the first two WNBA Draft picks for Coach Mulkey at LSU who has coached a combined 21 players that have gone on to be drafted throughout her head coaching career.
Aifuwa was a big presence in the paint for the Tigers who played a critical role in LSU’s success throughout her final season. She finished her career with the second most blocks in LSU history (239), the fifth most rebounds (970) and the 21st on LSU’s scoring list (1,302).
The Dacula, Georgia native started in 29 games and played in all 32 during LSU’s 26-6 season. She averaged 9.7 point and 6.8 rebounds during the season. Her 6.8 rebounds per game ranked No. 15 in the SEC and 1.63 blocks per game ranked No. 7 in the SEC.
Aifuwa helped LSU finish No. 2 in the SEC and earn a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, hosting first and second round NCAA Tournament games in the PMAC. In LSU’s first round matchup against Jackson State, Aifuwa scored 17 points and hauled in 14 rebounds to help lead the Tigers to a March Madness victory.
LSU’s WNBA Draft Picks
Player Year Team Round Pick
Elaine Powell 1999 Orlando 4 50
Katrina Hibbert 2000 Seattle 4 57
Marie Ferdinand 2001 Utah 1 8
April Brown 2001 Indiana 4 51
Aiysha Smith 2003 Washington 1 7
DeTrina White 2003 Indiana 2 20
Ke-Ke Tardy 2003 San Antonio 2 25
Doneeka Hodges 2004 Los Angeles 2 25
Temeka Johnson 2005 Washington 1 6
Seimone Augustus 2006 Minnesota 1 1
Scholanda Dorrell 2006 Sacramento 1 14
Sylvia Fowles 2008 Chicago 1 2
Erica White 2008 Houston 2 17
Quianna Chaney 2008 Chicago 2 19
Allison Hightower 2010 Connecticut 2 15
LaSondra Barrett 2012 Washington 1 10
Theresa Plaisance 2014 Tulsa 3 27
Raigyne Moncrief-Lewis 2018 Las Vegas 3 25
Khayla Pointer 2022 Las Vegas 2 13
Faustine Aifuwa 2022 Las Vegas 3 35
Coach Mulkey’s WNBA Draft Picks
Player Year Team Round Pick
Sheila Lambert 2002 Charlotte 1 7
Danielle Crockrom 2002 Utah 1 11
Steffanie Blackmon 2005 Seattle 3 38
Sophia Young 2006 San Antonio 1 4
Bernice Mosby 2007 Washington 1 6
Angela Tisdale 2008 Chicago 3 33
Jessica Morrow 2009 Atlanta 3 27
Britney Griner 2013 Phoenix 1 1
Brooklyn Pope 2013 Chicago 3 28
Odyssey Sims 2014 Tulsa 1 2
Niya Johnson 2016 Atlanta 3 28
Alexis Jones 2017 Minnesota 1 12
Alexis Prince 2017 Phoenix 3 29
Kristy Wallace 2018 Atlanta 2 16
Kalani Brown 2019 Los Angeles 1 7
Chloe Jackson 2019 Chicago 2 15
Lauren Cox 2020 Indiana 1 3
Te’a Cooper 2020 Phoenix 2 18
Juicy Landrum 2020 Connecticut 3 35
Khayla Pointer 2022 Las Vegas 2 13
Faustine Aifuwa 2022 Las Vegas 3 35