NEW YORK — Welcome to Dallas! The Wings' newest players were selected in the first and second and third rounds of the 2023 WNBA Draft in New York on Monday, April 10.
The Wings selected Villanova guard and the nation's leading scorer Maddy Siegrist, acquired Stephanie Soares via trade with the Washington Mystics, UConn guard/forward Lou Lopez-Senchal and Maryland's Abby Meyers in the first round.
Earlier this year, the team secured multiple first-round picks (3,5 and 11) after a four-team trade to acquire guard Diamond DeShields. The Wings also owned selections 19 and 31 in this year's draft.
The anticipation was high around Monday's selections after a record-breaking women's NCAA tournament, with both viewership and attendance soaring as Dallas hosted the Final Four at American Airlines Center.
The nation's most recognizable women's college basketball standouts had until March 26, 2023, to declare their WNBA Draft intentions if their season was over. Those who were still playing in the NCAA Tournament had 48 hours after their final game to decide.
In all, 112 players declared for the draft that is only three rounds and has 36 picks.
First Round
South Carolina's Aliyah Boston headlined the WNBA draft class and as expected, was taken first by the Indiana Fever. Boston had the chance to return to South Carolina for her COVID season but opted to enter Monday night’s draft instead. She was joined in New York by three of her South Carolina teammates, including Zia Cooke who was selected 10th in the first round by the LA Sparks.
The number two pick went to the Minnesota Lynx, who selected Maryland guard Diamond Miller. Often called one of the quickest and versatile guards in college basketball, Miller is expected to make a significant impact on the pro side.
Then it was DFW's own Wings' third selection -- Siegrist, who led the nation in scoring with 29 points per game and averaged 9.2 rebounds. Siegrist scored a career-best 50 points against Seton Hall on Feb. 11, 2023 – on 20 of 26 shooting.
"It's a dream come true," she said to ESPN's Holly Rowe after being chosen by the Wings.
The two-time Big East Player of the Year said she's ready to fit it in wherever for the Wings, even if it's just rebounding for star point guard Arike Ogunbowale, she joked with Rowe.
In a surprise move, the Washington Mystics traded number four pick Stephanie Soares to the Wings in exchange for a higher draft selection in 2024.
Soares, a 6'6" center from Iowa State, was one of the best players in program history before tearing her ACL in January 2023. Soares averaged 14.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.4 assist per game for the Cyclones.
The Sao Paulo native also represented Brazil at the 2022 FIBA South American Women’s Championship where she averaged 10.2 points and 6.6 rebounds and helped lead Brazil to a Gold Medal.
Then, with the 5th pick, the Wings selected guard Lopez-Senechal of UConn. She totaled more than a third of her baskets this past season from three-point range -- a role the Wings have been looking to fill after the loss of Marina Mabrey in the offseason.
Lopez-Senechal averaged 15.5 points per game for the Huskies, with a highlight 26-point performance against the Lady Vols.
The Grenoble, France native was recognized as the Metro Atlantic Conference Tournament (MAAC) Most Valuable Player in 2022 before transferring to UConn for her senior year.
"I think this year I had the confidence and the trust of everyone around...to compete at this level," she told Rowe after her selection.
Back up at the number 11 selection, the Wings finished off their first round choice with Maryland guard Meyers -- who averaged 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Meyers was named the 2022 Ivy League Player of the Year, before taking on the role as co-captain of the Terrapins. She was also named a 2022 All-American Honorable Mention and was most recently name to the 2023 All-Big Ten Second Team.
Second Round
The Wings selected Ashley Joens with the number 19 pick. The 6-foot-1 forward is versatile on offense and finished her career at Iowa State with 21.6 points per game, 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists. She can be a good facilitator at the next level, WNBA great and ESPN reporter/analyst Rebecca Lobo said.
"Now it's back to work and getting to play in the W," Joens told Rowe after being selected.
Joens concluded her five-year career at Iowa State ranked ninth all-time NCAA Division I women's basketball with 3,060 career points. She was also named the Cheryl Miller Award winner for the third straight season following her third season with more than 600 points. She's one of the nation's top small forward players.
And what does she have to say to the people who under estimate her size and game play?
"You just have to have a lot of heart...My parents say nothing is given to you, you have to earn it," Joens said.
Third Round
The Wings rounded out the 2023 Draft with Paige Robinson as the 31st pick. Robison, a 5'10" guard from Illinois State, averaged 18.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
Robinson had a standout season-high performance against Wisconsin where she scored 37 points (14-19 from the field).
In her final season with Illinois, she was a First-Team All-Mid West Region and First Team All-Great Lakes Valley honoree.
Wings outlook for 2023 season
No doubt there is future WNBA All-Star talent in this year's draft class. And the Wings have had success in choosing players that have been named Rookie of the Year, Rookie All-Team and have reached All-Star status.
Since moving to Dallas in 2016, the Wings has drafted one Rookie of the Year (Allisha Gray, 2017) and two WNBA All-Stars (Arike Ogunbowale and Satou Sabally). The Wings also have had an All-Rookie team member in all but one year.
Last year, the team finished 6th overall in the WNBA after losing in a heartbreaker Game 3 playoff matchup against the Connecticut Sun.
The team is entering its eighth season in North Texas and plays all of its home games at College Park Center in Arlington. With the new players in tow, the Wings are expected to make another run in the postseason.
It will be a competitive camp in Dallas, especially at the wing spot. We'll see who makes the starting roster. The Wings’ home opener against the Atlanta Dream is scheduled for Saturday, May 20 and will tipoff on ABC (WFAA Channel 8) at noon.
The Associated Press attributed to this report.