April 9, 2008

TAMPA, Fla. - Valeriya Berezhynska was chosen by the Detroit Shock with the 42nd pick during the 3rd Round of the WNBA Draft presented by adidas Wednesday afternoon at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club.

Berezhynska is the third Owl to be selected in the WNBA Draft. Rice's Marla Brumfield and Kirra Jordan were both taken in 2000 by the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm, respectively.

"I'm extremely excited about taking the next step in my basketball career," Berezhynska said. "I want to thank my coaches, teammates and fans of Rice basketball for all of their support during my career."

Berezhynska participated in the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp last weekend at the University of Tampa. She headlined the Owls and C-USA, averaging 18.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in league play.

Berezhynska won a trio of C-USA Player of the Week honors and recorded the program's first career triple-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a nationally televised game at Tulane (Feb. 14).

The Ukraine native recorded double figures in 20 of her 23 appearances on the season and reached the 20-point mark eight times, including four of her last five regular season games. She tallied 10 double-doubles and ended her career 10th on Rice's scoring list with 1,076 points.

"I'm very happy for Valeriya because it's a testimony to the hard work that she puts in on and off the court," head coach Greg Williams said. "She's very deserving of this opportunity and credit Cristy McKinney for bringing her into the program. We wish her all the best as she continues her basketball career."