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Yup, they all went in the first two rounds.
Last night, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s basketball starting 5 from this past season all were eligible to be drafted in the WNBA Draft. Jackie Young was the only player of the 5 that could’ve stayed for one more year, but she chose to declare for the draft. We now can see why that was the case.
In the draft, all five of the starters were drafted. The whole lineup of Jackie Young, Arike Ogunbowale, Brianna Turner, Jess Shepard, and Marina Mabrey were actually so good and so talented, that they all were drafted in the TOP 20. Insane.
Jackie Young
Jackie was drafted #1 overall to the Las Vegas Aces. She joins Jewell Loyd as the only Irish players to be drafted #1 in the WNBA Draft.
☘️ FIRST OVERALL PICK ☘️@JackieYoung3 is headed to the @LVAces after becoming the second No. 1 overall #WNBADraft pick in Irish history.#IrishInTheWNBA #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/H6NvArXOEF
— Notre Dame WBB (@ndwbb) April 10, 2019
Arike Ogunbowale
Arike was drafted #5 overall to the Dallas Wings. One of the clutchest players ever for the Irish gets picked in the top 5. She joins fellow Irish alum Skylar Diggins-Smith in Dallas.
From our program's leading scorer... to the @DallasWings!
— Notre Dame WBB (@ndwbb) April 10, 2019
Congratulations to @Arike_O for earning the fifth overall selection in the #WNBADraft.#IrishInTheWNBA #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/uiPWxOG0Ns
Brianna Turner
Breezy Bri was drafted #11 overall to the Atlanta Dream. That makes 3 Irish players drafted in the first round this year.
Steppin' into the @WNBA like a BREEZE.@_Breezy_Briii is headed to the @AtlantaDream with the 11th selection in the #WNBADraft.#IrishInTheWNBA #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/ldWGNMGfnw
— Notre Dame WBB (@ndwbb) April 10, 2019
However, Bri was then traded to the Phoenix Mercury, so her new home is now Phoenix!
TRADE ALERT
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) April 11, 2019
The Mercury have traded for the draft rights to the 11th overall pick, @_Breezy_Briii from @ndwbb!#BeHeard x #WNBADraft pic.twitter.com/jv2PSMp5J4
Jessica Shepard
Jess was drafted #16 overall to the Minneota Lynx. What a boss.
☘️ ➡️ @JShepard32 is taking her talents to the @minnesotalynx with the 16th selection in the #WNBADraft.#IrishInTheWNBA #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/m7wmlVGpiN
— Notre Dame WBB (@ndwbb) April 11, 2019
Marina Mabrey
Marina was drafted #20 overall to the LA Sparks. The spark for 3 pointers heads to LA.
The three-point machine is headed to LA!@Mmabrey1, our all-time leading three-point scorer, was drafted 19th overall by the @LA_Sparks!#IrishInTheWNBA #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/5jZtPFnrEI
— Notre Dame WBB (@ndwbb) April 11, 2019
Impact
This is the first time ever in the history of the WNBA that one school had 5 players drafted in the Top 20. This was an absolutely phenomenal team that has just left the program. They were a treat to watch. Thank you for the memories, and we wish them all the best. They’re all bosses.