Shooting for Silver Stardom: San Antonio picks Clark 17th overall

SECAUCUS, N.J. - With the fifth pick of the second round, and the 17th overall selection, the San Antonio Silver Stars chose former Middle Tennessee All-American Alysha Clark in the 2010 WNBA Draft presented by adidas.

Clark becomes the third Blue Raider in school history to be drafted into the WNBA, following Chrissy Givens (31st overall in 2007 to the Phoenix Mercury) and Amber Holt (9th overall in 2008 to the Connecticut Sun).

Clark is the only two-time All-American in school history and led the nation in scoring in each of the last two seasons, including a MT and Sun Belt-record 28.3 ppg as a senior. The Mt. Juliet, Tenn., native finished her career with 75 double-doubles, tying for fourth all-time, and 2,852 points to rank 12th in NCAA history.

She was a four-time conference player of the year, just one of three in NCAA history to accomplish the feat, after being picked twice in the Atlantic Sun at Belmont before transferring to Middle Tennessee and duplicating the effort.

After her stellar senior season, Clark was named to five All-America Teams, including the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Senior First Team, United States Basketball Writers Association 10-member squad, Associated Press Second Team, NetScouts Basketball Third Team and the State Farm/WBCA Coaches' Honorable Mention team. She also received Third Team Academic All-America accolades by CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine.

She ended her Blue Raider career with 1,756 points to rank eighth in program history, while leading the team to a 53-12 record in her career, including a 34-2 ledger in the Sun Belt regular season. Clark received a Sun Belt-record tying 12 Player of the Week honors and was the winner of the prestigious WNBA/Robin Roberts Broadcasting Scholarship Award.

Clark set another NCAA record for the most points by any player in any conference tournament with her blistering 132 in this year's Sun Belt Tournament. She holds school records for NCAA Tournament points (34 vs. Michigan State, 2009) and rebounds (14 vs. Mississippi State, 2010).

Clark was the second selection by San Antonio in the 2010 Draft, following the Silver Stars' choice of former Stanford All-American Jayne Appel with the No. 5 overall pick. The squad also chose Mississippi State's Alexis Rack with the 29th overall selection in the third round.

San Antonio finished the 2009 campaign with a 15-19 record, reaching the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Head coach Sandy Brondello takes over the team this season, after serving as the top assistant to Dan Hughes the past five years, including the 2008 campaign in which the Silver Stars won the Western Conference and advanced to their first WNBA Finals.

Other notable players on the roster include four-time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon, Tasha Humphrey, Shanna Crossley, Michelle Snow and Sophia Young.

2010 WNBA Draft presented by adidas:

First Round

1. Connecticut Sun, Tina Charles, Connecticut
2. Minnesota Lynx, Monica Wright, Virginia
3. Minnesota Lynx, Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska (traded to Connecticut)
4. Chicago Sky, Epiphanny Prince, Botas/Rutgers
5. San Antonio Silver Stars, Jayne Appel, Stanford
6. Washington Mystics, Jacinta Monroe, Florida State
7. Connecticut Sun, Danielle McCray, Kansas
8. Los Angeles Sparks, Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State
9. Atlanta Dream, Chanel Mokango, Mississippi State
10. Seattle Storm, Alison Lacey, Iowa State
11. Indiana Fever, Jene Morris, San Diego State
12. Los Angeles Sparks, Bianca Thomas, Mississippi
Second Round
13. New York Liberty, Kalana Greene, Connecticut
14. Washington Mystics, Jenna Smith, Illinois
15. Connecticut Sun, Allison Hightower, LSU
16. New York Liberty, Ashley Houts, Georgia
17. San Antonio Silver Stars, Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee
18. Washington Mystics, Shanavia Dowdell, Louisiana Tech
19. Tulsa Shock, Amanda Thompson, Oklahoma
20. Los Angeles Sparks, Angel Robinson, Georgia
21. Atlanta Dream, Brigitte Ardossi, Georgia Tech
22. Seattle Storm, Tanisha Smith, Texas A&M
23. Indiana Fever, Armelie Lumanu, Mississippi State
24. Phoenix Mercury, Tyra Grant, Penn State
Third Round
25. New York Liberty, Cory Montgomery, Nebraska
26. Minnesota Lynx, Gabriela Marginean, Drexel
27. Connecticut Sun, Johannah Leedham, Franklin Pierce
28. Chicago Sky, Abi Olajuwon, Oklahoma
29. San Antonio Silver Stars, Alexis Rack, Mississippi State
30. Washington Mystics, Alexis Gray-Lawson, California
31. Tulsa Shock, Vivian Frieson, Gonzaga
32. Los Angeles Sparks, Rashidat Junaid, Rutgers
33. Atlanta Dream, Brittainey Raven, Texas
34. Seattle Storm, Tijana Krivacevic, Hungary
35. Indiana Fever, Joy Cheek, Duke
36. Phoenix Mercury, Nyeshia Stevenson, Oklahoma

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