With the 11th pick of the first round, the Liberty were out of the WNBA draft spotlight.
Although they built their main core last year with the additions of Courtney Vandersloot, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, there are still voids for them to fill to chase their first WNBA title after falling short in the finals against the Aces last season.
The first rookie with the opportunity to add something to the championship puzzle piece is Ole Miss guard Marquesha Davis, who the Liberty picked at No. 11 with the first of their four picks Monday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, just steps away from their home court.
Davis is optimistic she can be a spark off the bench.
“I would say what excites me the most is coming into this Liberty team and learning from the vets that are there,” Davis said. “I would say something that stood out to me is them looking basically for a two-way player and me being just that. So knowing that I can come in and be a two-way player and make an impact that way is something that I look forward to.”
Davis averaged 14 points per game on 44.7 percent shooting in her final season, along with 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
She is known for bring able to lead a fast break, which could pair well with Sabrina Ionescu or Vandersloot, and being solid defensively at 6-feet.
She shot just 23.9 percent on 3s.
“Just coming in and having a certain role and knowing what’s expected of you and knowing that you don’t have to be the superhero or anything like that,” she said. “So I would say that that would definitely make it a lot better.”
With the 17th pick, the Libs took Esmery Martinez, a 6-2 forward from Arizona, who averaged 8.4 points in five college seasons between West Virginia and Arizona.
Mississippi State 6-5 center Jessika Carter was the Liberty’s third pick (No. 23 overall), and the team’s final selection (35th overall) was USC forward Kaitlyn Davis.
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