Former Louisiana Tech center Cheryl Ford and former Tulsa guard Allison Curtin were both chosen in the first round of the 2003 WNBA draft. Ford was selected Friday with the third overall pick, drafted by the Detroit Shock. Curtin was the 12th pick overall in the draft, taken by the Houston Comets.
Ford's selection as the third overall pick marks the highest a Louisiana Tech player has ever been selected during the seven year history of the league, surpassing Betty Lennox who was selected No. 6 overall in the 2000 WNBA Draft.
Detroit head coach Bill Lambeer said Ford's selection would help bolster the Shock inside game that also features Ruth Riley, Swin Cash and former Lady Techster Ayana Walker.
The two-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year averaged 15.7 points and 12.9 rebounds a game as a senior leading the Lady Techsters to a 31-3 mark and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Ford recorded 24 double-doubles and pulled down 438 rebounds in 2002-03, the second most in a single season in the history of the program.
Ford joins eight former Lady Techster players to give Louisiana Tech nine current WNBA stars, including Teresa Weatherspoon and Vickie Johnson of the New York Liberty, Betty Lennox of the Cleveland Rockers, Tamicha Jackson of the Phoenix Mercury, Alisa Burras and Takeisha Lewis of the Seattle Storm, Monica Maxwell of the Indiana Fever and Walker.
A 5'11" guard from Taylorville, Illinois, Curtin was a 2002-03 honorable mention All-America selection. She averaged 23.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.2 steals per game and also recorded 10 double doubles. Curtin was named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) 2003 All-Star Challenge, a team composed of the top-20 seniors in the country, and was also selected to the WBCA/Kodak All-District VII squad and to the 2003 Western Athletic Conference first team. She capped off her collegiate career as a finalist for the first annual Creamland Dairy Men's and Women's Collegiate Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year Award.
Curtin led all WAC players in points (692), scoring, free throws made (174), free throws attempted (207), field goals made (231), field goals attempted (516), free throw percentage (.857) and steals. Curtin was also honored as the WAC Player of the Week three times in 2002-03 and ranked among the nation's top-10 scorers and top-25 steals leaders the entire season.