Sky selects point guard Toliver in WNBA draft

The Chicago Sky has gone inside out.

A year ago, the Sky went big in the WNBA draft and picked up one of the best centers in the country in 6-foot-6 LSU star Sylvia Fowles.

Fowles, the No. 2 overall pick, provided instant help to the Sky's inside game.

On Thursday, the Sky went in the opposite direction, and the pickup of Maryland point guard Kristi Toliver with the No. 3 pick of the WNBA draft should significantly bolster the team's outside game.

The 5-foot-7 Toliver ranked second in the ACC in scoring with 18.1 points per game and No. 1 in the league in assists with 5.1 per game. She stands third on Maryland's all-time scoring list with 1,939 career points.

Toliver's brightest moment came as a freshman when she hit the winning shot for the Terps in the national championship game.

"I really like the fact that Kristi is a great passer, but she can also create her own shot," Sky coach Steven Key said. "That's going to really give us some versatility at the position. I think that makes her very suited for the next level."

The Sky picked up two more players in the draft: Texas A&M guard Danielle Gant and Vanderbilt guard Jennifer Risper. That gives the Sky 14 players who will be in training camp, which opens May 17. The roster on opening day must be trimmed to 11 players.

Meanwhile, former Neuqua Valley star Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, a forward at Purdue, was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks with the final pick in the first round (No. 13 overall). That means she will be reunited with another Naperville native, Candace Parker, a forward with the Sparks who will begin the season on maternity leave.