April 19, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Maryland women's basketball players Deedee Warley (Fort Washington, Md.) and March? Strickland (Kingston, Mass.) both were selected in fourth round of the WNBA draft on Friday, marking the first time in Terrapin history that two Maryland players have been selected in the same draft. Warley, a 6-2 forward, was chosen with the 62nd pick of the draft by the New York Liberty. One pick later, Strickland, a 5-9 shooting guard, was selected by the Cleveland Rockers.
The duo has been synonymous with Maryland's successes in recent years, guiding the Terrapins to the quarterfinals of the WNIT in 2000 as sophomores and to an NCAA Tournament appearance as juniors in 2001. As seniors, they became the 18th (Warley) and 19th (Strickland) players in school history to go over 1,000 points in their careers, finishing 1-2 on the Terps' scoring chart in three consecutive seasons and finishing their careers as the sixth (Warley) and seventh-leading (Strickland) scorers in history.
Warley, a third-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference pick in 2002, led Maryland in rebounding for the third straight season as a senior by averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. She averaged 12.1 points while establishing a bruising presence in the interior. She led Maryland with 13.4 points per game as just a freshman, and finished behind Strickland in the scoring column in each of the last three years.
Strickland, who averaged 12.6 points per game in 2002, started in all 117 Maryland games since her freshman campaign in 1998-99. Thrust into a starting point guard role as a freshman, she returned to her natural shooting guard role as a sophomore and became a three-time All-ACC selection while consistently ranking among league leaders in 3-point shooting.
Since the WNBA originated in 1997, Warley and Strickland are just the fourth and fifth Maryland players ever to draw selection in the draft. They are the first since Sonia Chase was made a fourth-round selection by the Charlotte Sting in 1998. The Terps' most recent player to compete in the WNBA, Kelley Gibson, was a free agent choice of the Houston Comets prior to the 2000 campaign and has played the last two seasons.
