St. Pius Alumna Selected in WNBA Draft's First Round

alumna Kelley Cain '07 (Decatur) was selected in the first round of the Women's National Basketball Association draft. She was selected by the New York Liberty with the seventh pick of the draft. Cain, a graduate of the University of Tennessee, is currently playing professionally in Turkey. The Liberty opens the regular season on May 14.

Cain is completing her first season with Gure Belediyesi in the Turkish Basketball League. She is averaging 21 points and 16 rebounds per game. Gure has advanced to the quarterfinals of the league and leads its current best-of-three playoff series one game to none. Should Cain and her teammates reach the semi-finals, it would mark the first time in the history of the Gure franchise that it has advanced that far in the playoffs.

In a statement by the Liberty franchise Monday, General Manager and Head Coach John Whisenant said, "Kelley is a Parade All-American who excelled at Tennessee and is now playing well overseas. We accomplished one of our goals in acquiring a post player with size, great hands and impressive footwork."

Cain, a 6-6 center, played three seasons with Tennessee averaging 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game on her career. She finished with the third best field-goal percentage in Tennessee history (.606). As a senior, during the 2010-11 season, she averaged 7.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game. She led the Southeastern Conference in blocks in her final two seasons with 228 in 92 games.

During her time as a Golden Lion, Cain helped lead the team to the girls' basketball AAAA state championship in 2004, 2006 and 2007. She was a three-time all-state selection in her career at St. Pius and holds the records for most rebounds and blocks in both a season and career.