Canada's Keishana Washington looking forward to WNBA opportunity
The moment has sunk in for Keishana Washington.
The Pickering, Ont., native arrived in Minneapolis, Minn., on Friday to begin a new chapter in her basketball career. Washington, who recently closed out her NCAA career at Drexel University, signed a training camp deal with the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx on April 14.
She is now set to get her first taste of the pro game on Sunday when camp begins.
"It's pretty surreal," Washington told The Canadian Press. "I mean [Thursday], I was packing my stuff, getting ready to go. And I didn't really feel it yet.
"But then I got here and it was like, 'Wow, like, you're actually a pro. Like, officially.' And then just seeing the facility and walking in and seeing my name on a locker, it kind of hit me."
Washington finished her fifth and final season at Drexel as the third-leading scorer in the country, averaging 27.7 points per game. She was named Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year in addition to receiving first-team all-CAA honours for her efforts.
The five-foot-seven guard concluded her career with 2,363 points to be the all-time leading Canadian scorer in NCAA history, second all-time on Drexel's scoring list and fourth all-time on the CAA career scoring list.
Despite going undrafted, the speed in which the Lynx called her after the April 10 draft — about 15 minutes — didn't make it feel any different than actually being called on during the draft.
"I didn't hear my name on draft night, but they called me instantly," Washington said. "So I kind of got the same feeling, … I'm just blessed to have received that call."
Washington's standout effort for the Drexel Dragons sparked Minnesota's interest early on in the process.
"Keishana obviously jumped off the pages for us