University of North Carolina Athletics
Pringle, Larkins Selected In WNBA Draft
April 10, 2008 | Women's Basketball
April 10, 2008
TAMPA, Fla. --- North Carolina seniors LaToya Pringle and Erlana Larkins became the 13th and 14th players in school history to be selected in the WNBA Draft Wednesday afternoon. Pringle was chosen 13th overall by the Phoenix Mercury and Larkins was the picked 14th by the New York Liberty.
"One thing that I learned from Coach Paul Westhead was to stick with your instinct," Phoenix first-year coach Corey Gaines said. "We unbelievably got the choice we wanted a long time ago and we didn't want to guess or change at the last second. (LaToya) Pringle was our first choice four months ago, but we didn't think she would be around at the 13th pick," Gaines said. "We thought she would go fifth or sixth."
Pringle was named to the State Farm Honorable Mention All-America list. Pringle, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, averaged 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds as a senior. Her 95 blocks on the year gave her 336 for her career, a new school record and the second-highest career total in ACC history. Pringle was a first-team All-ACC selection and was named to the ACC and New Orleans Region All-Tournament teams.
"The Liberty's goal remains the same: to provide our fans with the most competitive team we can assemble that contends for the WNBA Championship each year," said New York General Manager Carol Blazejowski. "We are thrilled to add (Rutgers' Essence) Carson and (Erlana) Larkins, two of the most complete and talented players from this year's deep WNBA Draft pool who will provide our roster with terrific flexibility."
Larkins, who earned State Farm and USBWA All-America honors, led UNC to a 33-3 record, a perfect run through the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and a fourth-straight ACC Tournament title. The Riviera Beach, Fla., product averaged 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest this season in leading Carolina to the Elite Eight.
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