Former Georgia player taken in first round of WNBA draft

<p>Minnesota's Janel McCarville was selected by the Charlotte Sting with the top overall pick in Saturday's WNBA draft.</p><p>Despite being away from basketball for more than a year, former Georgia standout Kara Braxton was the seventh pick of the draft, taken by the Detroit Shock.</p><p>The 6-foot-6 Braxton was the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year in 2002, when she averaged 16.3 points and 6.8 rebounds. She averaged 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds as a sophomore.</p><p>After repeated violations of team rules, Braxton was dismissed from the Georgia team by coach Andy Landers in February, 2004.</p><p>Braxton gave birth about two months ago.</p><p>The 6-foot-4 McCarville averaged 16.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals last season while leading the Gophers to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament _ the highest in school history.</p><p>The Indiana Fever selected Tan White from Mississippi State with the second pick, and the Phoenix Mercury followed by taking Texas Christian's Sandora Irvin. The San Antonio Silver Stars picked Kansas State's Kendra Wecker at No. 4, and the University of Houston's Sancho Lyttle went to the Houston Comets with the fifth pick.</p><p>White led the nation in scoring with 23.5 points per game, had an SEC-record 372 career steals and led Mississippi State to 12 straight wins. The 5-7 guard also won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, given to the best women's college basketball player who is 5-8 or shorter.</p><p>Irvin, a Naismith Trophy finalist and first-team All-American, was the NCAA career leader in blocked shots with 480. The niece of former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin was the Conference USA player of the year after averaging 19.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 2.1.</p><p>Wecker, the Big 12 player of the year, averaged 21 points and 10.1 rebounds for Kansas State despite missing three games with a sprained ankle early in the season. She also shot 42 percent on 3-pointers.</p><p>Lyttle, an all-Conference USA first team selection, averaged 18.8 points and 12.1 rebounds for the Cougars last season.</p><p>The Washington Mystics, who traded three-time All-Star Chamique Holdsclaw to the Los Angeles Sparks last month, took LSU's Temeka Johnson at No. 6, followed by Braxton to Detroit.</p><p>Rounding out the first round, it was: Katie Feenstra from Liberty to the Connecticut Sun with the eighth pick; Michigan State's Kristin Haynie to the Sacramento Monarchs at No. 9; Temple's Ari Moore to the New York Liberty next; UC Santa Barbara's Kristen Mann to the Minnesota Lynx with the 11th pick; Penn State's Tanisha Wright to the defending champion Seattle Storm at No. 12; and Oklahoma's Dionnah Jackson to the Shock with the 13th pick and final pick of the first round.</p>

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