CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- University of Hartford senior Danielle Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) was drafted 32nd overall, the fourth pick of the third round, by the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA Draft on Wednesday, April 9. Hood becomes the second women's basketball player in America East history drafted by the professional women's basketball league.
Hood will graduate as the second leading scorer in Hartford school history with 1,679 career points. She was named to the America East All-Conference First Team for the third time in her career in March and was also named to the America East All-Championship team after leading Hartford to its fourth America East Championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament.
This season, Hood led the Hawks to a 28-6 overall record and the program’s second appearance in the NCAA Second Round, before falling to elite eight member Texas A&M. The Hawks 28 wins is a school record. Hood also helped lead Hartford to the 2007 Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic Championship, on her way to being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Cindy Blodgett (Maine '98), current head coach of the Maine Black Bears, became the first America East women's basketball player drafted by the WNBA. Blodgett was the first draft choice of the Cleveland Rockers and the sixth draft pick overall in 1998. Blodgett went on to play in the league from 1998-2002. The only other player from the conference to play in the WNBA was Jamie Cassidy (Maine '00).
WNBA President Donna Orender announced the Atlanta Dream as an expansion team for the 2008 season on October 17, 2007. The Dream will play at Philips Arena in Atlanta and will compete in the Eastern Conference with the Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sky, Detroit Shock, Indiana Fever, New York Liberty and Washington Mystics. The team kicks off the 2008 regular season on Saturday, May 17 at the Connecticut Sun.