MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Asya Bussie became West Virginia’s highest-ever WNBA draft pick Monday night, selected by the defending-champion Minnesota Lynx at No. 15 overall, with the third pick of the second round.
“I’m hoping to come in and contribute and hopefully win another championship,” said Bussie, an All-Big 12 selection this past season when the Mountaineers won a school-record 30 games and shared the regular-season conference title.
The 6-foot-4 Bussie, one year removed from ACL surgery, averaged 12.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a fifth-year senior. She exited ranking sixth on West Virginia’s career rebounding list with 853 and 11th in scoring at 1,497 points.
Though her college career ended with a 76-67 upset loss at LSU in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Bussie’s 21-point second-half outburst was one of most dominant individual stretches.
“It’s shocking to me that I’m the highest pick in program history,” Bussie said. “That is a great honor and it goes with the theme of this past year—just to make program history.”
In 2005, Mountaineers point guard Yolanda Paige was the 16th overall pick, while in 2008 Olayinka Sanni went No. 18.
“I can’t even put into words how excited and blessed I am,” Bussie said. “I was nervous all day, I woke up nervous, and I’m glad to know where I’m going. I’m excited to be playing with Minnesota with some great players like Monica Wright, Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus. It’s a great team.”