Thorburn, Smith Selected in First Round of WNBA Draft

By | Posted - April 5, 2006 at 2:13 p.m.

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah guard Shona Thorburn became the first Ute in school history to be taken in the WNBA draft.

Thorburn, Utah's all-time leader in assists, went seventh overall to the Minnesota Lynx in the draft Wednesday.

"I think I'm still in shock. It's a little surreal right now," Thorburn said.

Teammate Kim Smith, Utah's all-time leading scorer and four-time Mountain West Conference player or co-player of the year, also went in the first round to the Sacramento Monarchs with the 13th overall pick.

Smith and Thorburn helped lead the Utes to the MWC championship and within one victory of Utah's first appearance in the Final Four. The Utes lost in the regional finals in overtime to Maryland, which went on to win the national title.

Utah's Kim Smith, right, is presented with a Sacramento Monarchs jersey by WNBA President Donna Orender, left, after Smith was chosen as the No. 13 pick in the WNBA draft by Sacramento, Wednesday, April 5, 2006, in Boston. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

No other Utes had been drafted in the 10-year history of the WNBA.

"That's pretty cool," Smith said. "All it is going to do is help the school and the program."

Thorburn will join overall No. 1 pick Seimone Augustus of Louisiana State and former Brigham Young star Ambrosia Anderson in Minnesota. Anderson went to Detroit in the second round of Wednesday's draft, then the Shock traded her rights to the Lynx.

"It's a great turning point for me and I'm excited to be playing for Minnesota along with Shona," Anderson said.