Courtesy: K-State Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kansas – Kansas State center Breanna Lewis was selected with the 23rd overall selection in the second round of the 2017 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings on Thursday night at the WNBA’s annual draft event.
Lewis becomes the eighth player in school history to be selected during the WNBA Draft. Lewis is the 11th player overall to become a part of the league and first since Brittany Chambers and Jalana Childs in the 2013 season.
Dallas, coached by Fred Williams, finished fifth in the Western Conference regular season standings with an 11-23 record during the 2016 season.
During the 2016-17 season, Lewis garnered 2017 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Region 3 honors and her second straight All-Big 12 First Team citation. She reached the 400-point, 225-rebound mark for the second straight season with 471 points (13.9 ppg) and 280 rebounds (8.2 rpg).
In addition to rebounds, she leads the Wildcats in a number of statistical categories, including: field goals made and field goal percentage (205-of-367; .559), blocked shots (59, 1.7 bpg) and double-doubles (9). The two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection ranks 12th in the Big 12 in scoring, third in field goal percentage, fourth in rebounding and sixth in blocked shots.
Her 280 rebounds this season are a career-high and ranks ninth in school history for rebounds in a season. Her nine double-doubles in the 2016-17 season is tied for 10th in school history for a single season.
Lewis, who is the only player in program history to be named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team, earned her third straight league defensive honor by anchoring one of the Big 12’s top defenses this season. She was responsible for 41.3 percent of K-State’s blocked shots and set the school record for blocked shots in a three-year span with 238. This season, Lewis owns a combined 93 blocks and steals.
She concluded her career as the program’s career shot blocks leader with 282 (2.2 bpg), ranks fifth in rebounding with 865 (6.8 rpg) and ninth in career points with 1,552 (12.1 ppg). She was the only NCAA Division I player during the 2016-17 season with the combination of 1,500 or more career points and 275 or more career blocks. She was the 11th player in school history to reach 1,500 career points and was just one of four players in program history with 1,500 or more points and 800 or more career rebounds.
In addition to her on-court honors, Lewis received her first Academic All-Big 12 First Team honor and was a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award candidate.
Kansas State concluded the 49th season in program history with 23 wins, the most since the 2008-09 season. The Wildcats made the 15th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and advanced a round in the tournament for the 11th time.
The Wildcats registered an 11-7 mark in the Big 12 and a fourth-place finish in the league. The 11 wins were the most since K-State won the Big 12 in 2007-08. This was the third straight season under Mittie that K-State has improved its league win total from one season to the next.
Kansas State’s WNBA Draft history
Year – Player – Selection – Round – Team
2017 – Breanna Lewis – 23rd pick – second – Dallas Wings
2013 – Brittany Chambers – 22nd pick – second – Los Angeles Sparks
2009 – Shalee Lehning – 25th pick – second – Atlanta Dream
2005 – Kendra Wecker – 4th pick – first – San Antonio Silver Stars
2005 – Megan Mahoney – 34th pick – third – Connecticut Sun
2004 – Nicole Ohlde – 6th pick – first – Minnesota Lynx
2000 – Shanele Stires – 56th pick – fourth – Minnesota Lynx
2000 – Olga Firsova – 13th pick – first – New York Liberty
