Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Rising star Nyadiew Puoch has been rewarded for her stellar season with the UC Capitals, gaining selection for Portland Fire in the WNBA’s expansion draft.
Puoch was the breakout star for the Capitals last season, averaging 11.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals as her team fell just short of the WNBL finals.
Her biggest moment came in the dying seconds of Canberra’s 77-74 win against the Perth Lynx in January when she tossed the ball into the basket from the halfway line to seal victory.
Chosen as the No.16 overall pick, the 21-year-old will join Portland’s roster, following her 2024 draft selection by the Atlanta Dream.
“Honestly, if you spoke to me this time three years ago, I wouldn’t believe any of this would happen,” Puoch told AAP on Saturday.
“I go out there, have fun, play basketball and these opportunities have opened up for me.
“It means a lot. It’s a new expansion team in the WNBA, so I’m excited.”
Puoch isn’t the only Australian to make the Fire’s roster, with Opal Chloe Bibby acquiring the 11th pick, after spending last season with Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever and the Golden State Valkyries.
“It makes it less daunting having someone there, and Chloe’s been at a different expansion team at the Bay (Golden State) as well,” Puoch said.
“She’s a great player and a great human, so being able to be around her is really exciting and cool. We also have two members at the club who are Australian as well.”
Opals coach Sandy Brondello is spearheading the league’s other new team, the Toronto Tempo, and selected her Olympic bronze medallist Kristy Wallace from the Fever as the 23rd overall pick.
The trio will join several other Australian stars in the expanded competition that begins on May 8, after the league and players’ union completed talks for a new collective bargaining agreement on March 24.
The agreement will create a new revenue-sharing system, increase the salary cap to $7 million ($A10m) from $1.5m ($A2.1m), and grow one-year salaries to a maximum of $1.4m ($A2.3m).
