Football
Associated Press 19y

Cisti Greenwalt drafted by Sacramento

CLOVIS, N.M. -- Clovis' Cisti Greenwalt was drafted into the
WNBA by the Sacramento Monarchs on Saturday.

Greenwalt, who is Clovis High School's all-time leading scorer
and went on to play center for Texas Tech, was pick No. 35.

"It's a great opportunity," Greenwalt told the Clovis News
Journal on Saturday. "I've been watching (TV coverage) all morning
and I didn't know where I was going to go. It's an awesome place to
go."

Greenwalt helped lead Clovis to back-to-back championships in
1999 and 2000. She was on The Associated Press All-State team in
Class 5A and tied in 2001 for Player of the Year with Sandia's
Lindsey Arndt, who went on to play for the University of New
Mexico.

Talking with her agent and some coaches at the pre-draft camp
last week in New York, Greenwalt was pretty sure she'd hear her
name called at some point.

"They figured I'd get drafted, they just didn't know where or
when it would be," she said.

Going to Sacramento was a little bit of a surprise for
Greenwalt, who said San Antonio seemed most interested.

Greenwalt said WNBA teams were most interested in her defensive
skills and height. At 6-foot-5, Greenwalt finished her career as
the Texas Tech and Big 12 Conference career leader in blocks with
300, including 105 her senior year. She averaged 12.9 points and
8.6 rebounds as a senior.

Sacramento has been a power in the West, having finished a game
short of the WNBA Finals three of the last four years. Last year
they were 18-16, finishing third in the west.

The Monarchs are coached by John Whisenant, a 1966 New Mexico
State University graduate.

Janel McCarville was selected by Charlotte as the top overall
pick in Saturday's league draft. The 6-foot-4 McCarville averaged
16 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals last season
while leading Minnesota to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament --
the highest in school history.

^ Back to Top ^