NEW YORK — Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, as expected.
When she’ll play for the New York Liberty is unclear.
With sports on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was a draft Friday night like no other with players in their own homes instead of a central location, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced selections from her home in New Jersey, holding up the jersey of the player being chosen.
“Of course it was different than what I had expected, and just excited to be able to be here with my family and the people closest to me and be able to spend this time,” Ionescu said from her home in California. “Making the most out of what’s going on in today’s society. Just really happy to be able to spend this moment with them and excited to have gone through this process.”
Ionescu set the NCAA record for triple-doubles and was the first college player to have over 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in her career. Ionescu was one of three first round picks for New York, which also had Nos. 9 and 12.
“I’ve been working for this for my entire basketball career and super excited to see that come to fruition,” Ionescu said. “I’m very humbled and excited for the opportunity.”
Ducks teammate Satou Sabally, one of three juniors to forego their last year of college eligibility and enter the draft, went second to Dallas. It’s the third time in the history of the draft that the top two picks were teammates in college.
“To go 1-2 with Satou is a really cool feeling and shows all the hard work we went through this year paid off,” Ionescu said. “Really proud of her and what we were able to do as teammates and excited to see her future in the pros.”
Lauren Cox went third to Indiana and Chennedy Carter was the fourth pick by Atlanta. Dallas took Bella Alarie with the fifth pick. The Princeton star was only the second Ivy League player to be drafted that high. Harvard star Allison Feaster was also selected fifth in the 1998 draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.
South Carolina players Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and Tyasha Harris went sixth and seventh to Minnesota and Dallas. The Gamecocks finished No. 1 in the AP poll this season.
Chicago chose Ruthy Hebard with the eighth pick — marking the fifth consecutive season and ninth overall that three college teammates were taken in the opening round.
“Really shows what kind of environment we had at Oregon,” Sabally said.
New York took UConn’s Megan Walker with the ninth pick. Phoenix picked Jocelyn Willoughby of Virginia 10th. Seattle took former South Florida star Kitija Laksa with the 11th pick and New York closed out the first round drafting Jazmine Jones from Louisville.
New York, which was the first team ever to have five of the first 15 picks in the draft, selected Jones’ Louisville teammate Kylee Shook at 13 and Duke’s Leaonna Odom at 15.
The Liberty also made two trades after the draft, acquiring Willoughby for Shatori Walker-Kimbrough. New York also traded Erica Ogwumike, who they drafted in the third round, to Minnesota for Stephanie Talbot.
The WNBA tried to create a draft like experience for the players, sending them a care package with hats of all 12 teams, a WNBA sweatshirt, confetti and a few other items.
Cox’s sister doused her with confetti after her name was announced.
“It was really fun and we made the most of it,” Cox said.
Coaches and general managers were spread throughout the country and world, so they set up virtual war rooms instead of gathering in their own team facilities.
While the draft was held Friday, its still unclear when the league will actually start its season. Engelbert reinforced on a conference call earlier in the day that there was no timetable to when the season will begin. She said there were a variety of scenarios in play, but the most important factor was the health of everyone.
Training camp was supposed to begin next weekend with the regular season opener originally scheduled for May 15.
The league held its usual conference call with the teams before the ESPN broadcast started to eliminate any chance of a pick not being in on time. The virtual draft went off without any problems.
Engelbert announced the WNBA, along with presenting draft partner State Farm and the players’ union, will donate $20,000 for each of the 12 first-round picks to Direct Relief to help get protective gear and medication to health-care workers as quickly as possible.
The league also honoured Alyssa Altobelli, Gianna Bryant and Payton Chester before the start of the draft. Engelbert announced their names as jerseys were shown on the screen with each of the three players on them. The teenagers were among the nine people who died in the helicopter accident on Jan. 26, including Kobe Bryant.
“I think it was a very beautiful thing that the WNBA did to be able to draft those three girls,” Ionescu said. “They deserved it. I know they’re looking down and smiling and really excited.”
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have loaned midfielder Jay Herdman to Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League and rewarded two Whitecaps FC 2 players with MLS contracts.
Midfielder Jeevan Badwal signed as a homegrown player through 2027, with options for 2028 and 2029, while forward Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau signed an MLS contract through 2025, with club options for 2026 and 2027.
Both have been playing for the Whitecaps’ MLS Next Pro team along with the 20-year-old Herdman, the son of Toronto FC coach John Herdman.
The moves were made before Friday’s MLS and CPL roster freeze.
Born in New Zealand while his father was working for the New Zealand Football Federation, Jay Herdman was also part of the New Zealand soccer team at the Paris Olympics with three appearances including two starts. Herdman’s loan deal runs through the end of the CPL season.
“Jay is an important signing for us, who will provide another attacking option for the run-in,” Cavalry coach and GM Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said in a statement. “He’s a player that we’ve been tracking since we played against Whitecaps in pre-season and he has very good quality, with terrific energy and the ability to contribute to goals.
“With the recent injury to Mael Henry, Jay’s positional profile and age helps us with on-field options and minutes that count towards the league’s required 2,000 U-21 domestic minutes during the regular season.”
Badwal, an 18-year-old from suburban Surrey, is the 26th academy player to sign an MLS contract with the Whitecaps.
“Having joined our academy in 2019, Jeevan continues to progress through our club and takes every challenge in stride,” Whitecaps FC sporting director Axel Schuster said in a statement. “He is comfortable on the ball, positionally sound, and does the simple things very well. We are excited for Jeevan to make the next step in his young career.”
Badwal has made 19 appearances with Whitecaps 2 this season, scoring two goals and adding three assists. A Canadian youth international, he started all three matches for Canada at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup
Badwal made his first-team debut off the bench in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinal against Pacific FC.
Chateau was originally selected 74th overall by the Whitecaps in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft after spending two years at St. John’s University.
The 22-year-old from Ottawa signed an MLS NEXT Pro contract with Whitecaps FC 2 in March. He leads Whitecaps FC 2 in goal-scoring this season with eight goals across 21 appearances (including eight starts).
“Nicolas leads MLS NEXT Pro in shots on target, has a very strong work rate and willpower. We are looking forward to seeing his growth as he builds on his young professional career,” said Schuster.
Chateau made his first-team debut as a second-half substitute at CF Montreal on July 6.
Herdman, who joined the Whitecaps academy as a 13-year-old, has made 19 appearances for Whitecaps FC 2 in 2024, scoring six goals and adding three assists. He made his MLS debut in April as a second-half substitute in a 2-0 victory at the Seattle Sounders.
Internationally, Herdman has represented New Zealand 29 times across the U-19, U-20, and U-23 sides. He was part of New Zealand’s squad at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, starting three matches at the tournament and scoring against Uzbekistan.
The Whitecaps host San Jose on Saturday while Cavalry entertains Atletico Ottawa on Sunday.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024
