Mercury select forwards Destiny Harden, Kadi Sissoko in WNBA Draft
Apr 10, 2023, 7:13 PM | Updated: 8:22 pm
Destiny Harden #3 of the Miami Hurricanes reacts with Ja'Leah Williams #12 of the Miami Hurricanes after being a fouled and scoring a basket during the first half against the Villanova Wildcats in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 24, 2023 in Greenville, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Mercury selected Miami’s Destiny Harden and USC’s Kadi Sissoko in the third round of the 2023 WNBA Draft on Monday.
“We are very pleased with the results of this year’s draft,” Mercury general manager Jim Pitman said in a press release.
“We had both Destiny and Kadi rated high on our draft boards and are thrilled to have acquired players of their caliber with our picks. We are excited to get them both into camp and see what they can do here in Phoenix.”
The Mercury took Harden, a 6-foot forward from Chicago, with the No. 27 overall pick after she played five college seasons — four at Miami and one at West Virginia.
She averaged 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 2022-23 and made the All-ACC second team.
Harden scored 18 points in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, hitting the game-winning shot to upset No. 1 seed Indiana.
CANES CAN ‼️
The game winning shot from Destiny Harden#MarchMadness x @CanesWBB pic.twitter.com/4OtEoO97Bb
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 21, 2023
The Hurricanes reached the Elite Eight before they fell to LSU.
Sissoko — the No. 29 overall pick — is a 6-foot-2 forward from France who made the All-Pac-12 team this past season.
She led USC with 15.4 points per game and was second on the team with 6.2 boards.
This pass from Kadi Sissoko off of the up-fake is so dope. Love everything about this
Shot fake draws the help on a closeout after putting her in a 2 on 1, as soon as Sissoko gets the step up, easy bucket for Rayah Marshall pic.twitter.com/9E6fFSuPIh
— Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) January 1, 2023
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She previously played two seasons at Minnesota.
Phoenix has 17 players on its training camp roster after the draft.
The Mercury traded their 2023 first- and second-round selections last offseason in a multi-team deal to acquire Diamond DeShields from the Chicago Sky.
Phoenix dealt DeShields this winter to the Dallas Wings in a four-team trade for Michaela Onyenwere, a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick.
The Mercury have not picked in the first two rounds since 2020.
Phoenix is coming off a 15-21 season and first-round exit in the playoffs. They will have a different look in 2023, notably with Brittney Griner back on the floor after her detainment in Russia last year.
The Mercury open the regular season on May 19 in Los Angeles against the Sparks and host the Sky at Footprint Center on May 21.
WILDCAT/SUN DEVIL DRAFTED
Scottsdale native Jade Loville was taken in the third round of the draft by the Seattle Storm.
Loville played one season each at Arizona and Arizona State, spending the 2022-23 campaign with the Wildcats.
Three defenders? No problem. 🔥@JadeLoville goes coast to coast for the score. #NCAAWBB x 🎥 @ArizonaWBB pic.twitter.com/n5PbnvyDJJ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) February 19, 2023
She started 30 games for Arizona and scored 9.8 points per game with a 36.1% three-point percentage.
Loville played for ASU in 2021-22, making the All-Pac-12 squad after scoring 16.6 points per game.
