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Beavers' Gulich, three former Oregon HS players selected in WNBA Draft

In addition to Gulich, three former Oregon high school players were picked in the draft on Thursday.
Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Marie Gulich (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)

PORTLAND, Ore. – One Beaver and three former Oregon high school basketball players were selected in the WNBA Draft on Thursday night.

Oregon State center Marie Gulich (pictured above) was selected with the last pick of the first round, 12th overall, by the Phoenix Mercury. Gulich led the Beavers to Elite Eight for the second time in three years this past season. She averaged 18.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, both team-highs.

It’s the third straight season the Beavers have had a player selected in the WNBA Draft. Jamie Weisner and Ruth Hamblin were selected in the second round of the 2016 Draft and Sydney Wiese was picked in the first round of the 2017 Draft.

In addition to Gulich, three former Oregon high school players were picked in the draft on Thursday. Two of them were teammates at the University of Tennessee

Jaime Nared, who was the 2014 6A Player of the Year while playing at Westview High School, was selected with the first pick of the second round, No. 13 overall, by the Las Vegas Aces. Nared, a 6-foot-2 forward, led Tennessee in scoring, averaging 16.7 points per game. She was an AP Honorable Mention All-American.

Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Jaime Nared at Tennessee (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)

And Nared’s teammate at Tennessee, center Mercedes Russell, was also selected in the second round, No. 22 overall, by the New York Liberty. Russell averaged 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game last season with the Volunteers. She played at Springfield High School, where she led the Millers to the 2011 and 2012 5A state title and was the 5A State Player of the Year from 2011-13.

Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Mercedes Russell at Tennessee (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)

The third former Oregon preps player was Leslie Robinson, the daughter of former Beavers women's basketball coach Craig Robinson. She played at Corvallis High School. Robinson was selected in the third round, No. 34 overall, by the Liberty. She played for Princeton, where she averaged 10.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game last season for the Tigers.

Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Leslie Robinson at Princeton (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)

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