Monarchs take Maryland's Harper in first round of WNBA draft

Laura Harper, a 6-foot-4 center/forward out of Maryland, is the newest Monarch.

In seeking a replacement for Yolanda Griffith in Wednesday's WNBA draft, the Monarchs selected a young post player with many of the same qualities as Sacramento's longtime cornerstone. Besides her height and muscle, Harper can dominate around the rim, play hard-nosed defense and is an excellent rebounder.

Harper averaged 14.1 points and 8.5 rebounds during her senior year for the Lady Terrapins (33-4), who lost as a No. 1 seed to Stanford in the Western Regional final of the NCAA tournament.

Reached by phone in Tampa, Harper was thrilled to be a Monarch. She had been so busy during the women's Final Four and accompanying pre-draft combine, she was unaware that Griffth had signed with Seattle.

"Honestly, I didn't even know she left," Harper said. "I'm a little bit in the dark. I know (Monarchs guard) Ticha Penicheiro is an absolutely amazing player; I'm looking forward to playing with her. I'll just go with the flow."

Harper, who turns 22 on Thursday, considered her selection as the No. 10 pick overall as an early birthday present.

"I'm celebrating my birthday with my old team, but I'm thrilled about my new team," she said. "I can't wait."

The Monarchs also had three third-round selections: A'Quonesia Franklin (at No. 38 overall), Izabela Piekarska (No. 40) and Charel Allen (No. 43 and last).

A native of Poland and a 6-5 center, Piekarska led Texas-El Paso to a 28-4 record while averaging 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds a game.

A 5-3 point guard, Franklin averaged 7.9 points and 4.7 assists per game at Texas A&M. A 5-11 shooting guard, Allen averaged 15.1 points and 5.1 rebounds a game at Notre Dame.

Less than 15 hours after winning their second consecutive national championship, Tennessee teammates Candace Parker and Alexis Hornbuckle went from celebrating back-to-back titles to launching new careers. As expected, Parker was selected No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks. Hornbuckle, a 5-11 guard, went No. 4 to the Detroit Shock.

LSU center Sylvia Fowles was the No. 2 overall pick, going to the Chicago Sky. Stanford star Candice Wiggins went No. 3 to the Minnesota Lynx.

Griffith signed as a free agent Tuesday with the Seattle Storm, which did not have a first-round pick.

The 2008 WNBA draft first-round selections

Pick Team Player College Pos. Ht. PPG; RPG;

No. 1 Los Angeles, Candace Parker, Tennessee, C/F, 6-4, 20.8 8.6

No. 2 Chicago, Sylvia Fowles, LSU, C, 6-6, 17.3 9.8

No. 3 Minnesota, Candice Wiggins, Stanford, F/G, 5-11, 19.4 4.4

No. 4 Detroit, Alexis Hornbuckle, Tennessee, G, 5-11, 10.0 5.4

No. 5 Houston, Matee Ajavon Rutgers, G, 5-8, 12.2 3.6

No. 6 Washington, Crystal Langhorne, Maryland, F, 6-2, 17.3 9.4

No. 7 New York, Essence Carson, Rutgers, G, 6-0, 10.8 5.2

No. 8 Atlanta, Tamera Young, James Madison, F/G, 6-2, 20.4 10.4

No. 9 Connecticut, Amber Holt, F, Middle Tenn. State, F, 6-0, 27.3 8.0

No. 10 Monarchs, Laura Harper, Maryland, F/C, 6-4 14.1 8.5

No. 11 Detroit, Tasha Humphrey, Georgia, F, 6-3, 16.7 9.1

No. 12 Connecticut, Ketia Swanier, Connecticut, G, 5-7, 6-5 3.0

No. 13 Phoenix, LaToya Pringle, North Carolina, F/C, 6-3, 14.6 7.2

No. 14 New York, Erlana Larkins, North Carolina, F, 6-1, 13.5 9.5

All stats from 2007-08 season