SECAUCUS, N.J., April 19 (UPI) -- The WNBA draft left little doubt why Connecticut went 39-0 and captured the national title this past season.
Connecticut guard Sue Bird was the top overall selection by the Seattle Storm, joining three other Huskies in the top six picks of the league's sixth annual draft.
Bird led Connecticut to two national titles, including a perfect 39-0 mark last season. She won the prestigious Naismith Award and the Wade Trophy and averaged 14.4 points for the Huskies.
At 5-9, Bird became the shortest player to be selected with the top overall pick.
Seattle made the top overall selection for the second consecutive year. Last season, the Storm picked Australian star Lauren Jackson but still finished tied for the league's worst mark at 10-22. Bird went 135-9 in her career at Connecticut.
Detroit selected Bird's teammate, guard Swin Cash, with the second overall selection. Cash led Connecticut in scoring and rebounding at 14.9 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per contest.
The Washington Mystics interrupted the run of Huskies by taking Oklahoma guard Stacey Dales-Schuman with the third pick. But the Mystics made sure they did not go home without a Connecticut star by tabbing forward Asjha Jones with the fourth pick.
The durable Jones never missed a game during her four-year career and was a first-team All-Big East selection after averaging 14.0 points per game.
After Portland nabbed North Carolina guard Nikki Teasley with the fifth pick, Connecticut forward Tamika Williams was selected sixth by Minnesota. She will join former Huskie Svetlana Abrosimova, who was selected seventh overall by the Lynx in last season's draft.
Connecticut became the first school to have four players selected in the first round of the draft.
The Huskies were not the only program to have an embarrassment of riches as Oklahoma, the national runner-up, had three players selected. In addition to Dales-Schuman, LaNeishea Caufield was chosen 14th by Utah while the defending world champion Los Angeles Sparks took guard Rosalind Ross with the 16th pick.
A pair of players from Baylor were selected in the first round as Sheila Lambert was picked seventh by Charlotte. Danielle Crockrom was chosen with the 11th pick by tah. Utah coach Candi Harvey recruited the 6-2 forward at her previous coaching stop at Texas A&M.
Perhaps the most intriguing selection was made by Houston, which won the first four titles before succumbing to Los Angeles last season. The Comets took 6-5 center Michelle Snow of Tennessee, who was inconsistent in her college career despite her ability to dunk the basketball.
