/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54249943/SoniyaChongGray__1_.0.jpeg)
After a breakout senior season, Saniya Chong was selected with the sixth pick in the third round of the WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings. She becomes the 33rd overall player to be drafted from UConn.
Coming into this past season, expectations for Chong were low. During her first three years, she struggled to find the court due to a mix of inconsistency and injuries but finally put all it together for her senior season. Chong started 31 games at point guard for the Huskies and while she was often overshadowed by her teammates, head coach Geno Auriemma routinely lauded her importance to the team.
“I don’t know where we’d be without Saniya Chong right now,” said Auriemma during the NCAA Tournament. “That’s how much she’s changed and added to our program.”
Chong finished the season fourth in the country with a 3.3 assist-turnover ratio and earned Third Team All-Conference honors, but she was a big part in facilitating the offense throughout the season. As one of just two seniors, Chong was the heart of the team.
Geno went to yell something to Saniya, but then Saniya called out the play and Geno just nodded his head. That's what seniors are for.
— Daniel Connolly (@DanielVConnolly) March 25, 2017
She joins a Dallas Wings team that finished 11th out of 12 in the league and missed the playoffs. Chong will be just the fifth guard on the team, a group that includes former Notre Dame star Skylar Diggins-Smith.
With her selection, a UConn player has now been selected in the WNBA Draft for the past 11 seasons.