Lynx pick Hiedeman in 2nd round; traded to Connecticut
HOWARD (WLUK) -- After the first round of the WNBA Draft concluded Wednesday night, Natisha Hiedeman began paying more attention as she had a feeling her name night be called soon.
As the first five picks were made in the second round, Hiedeman didn't hear her name called, but that quickly ended. With the sixth pick in the second round, 18th overall, the Minnesota Lynx selected the former Green Bay Southwest and Marquette star.
Hiedeman didn't react too much, probably because she was relieved, but family and friends gathering for the watch party erupted. A dream had been realized and Hiedeman's next stop in her career was mapped out. Or was it?
Less than 10 minutes later, Hiedeman had been traded from the Lynx to the Connecticut Sun for Lexie Brown, who played sparingly last season. Hiedmean was shocked by the trade but overall was so happy to be drafted.
"I had talked to the Connecticut coach, I actually met him the training camp and he told me he was a big fan of me, so I'm excited to go down there," Hiedeman said. "Seems like a super-cool guy, super-cool everything. We're relocating in what, five minutes.
"Same expectations, same everything going into it. Going to be the best person, the best teammate, everything."
Among the people in attendance was Hiedeman's brother, Sandy Cohen III, who just completed his career at Green Bay.
"This is something she has worked very hard for her whole life," Cohen said. "We always knew had the talent and she went and had a great career at Marquette for four years. She really put in a lot of hard work and I'm just so happy and proud of her."
Hiedeman, the Green Bay metro all-time scoring leader in girls high school basketball with 1,773 points, was the unanimous Big East player of the year after averaging 17.6 points per game this past season as Marquette won the conference regular season title. She is also Marquette’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals made with 301 and third on the all-time scoring list with 1,913 points.
"It's been a long journey, a path that I didn't expect to take or anything," Hiedeman said. "Just the fact I that through all the obstacles, I made it this far. I couldn't be more happier. I think I'm going to be in shock for like a week. Just got to get ready to give it all I got."
The Sun will open the WNBA season on May 25 against the Washington Mystics
Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay
