MOORE AND ELY ARE WNBA DRAFT PICKS

April 16, 2005

Knoxville, Tenn. - University of Tennessee Lady Vol basketball seniors Loree Moore (Lakewood, CA) and Shyra Ely (Indianapolis, IN) were selected in the 2005 WNBA Draft on Sat., April 16.

Moore was selected in the first round (10th pick overall) by the New York Liberty, while Ely was selected first in the second round (14th pick overall) by the San Antonio Silver Stars. Moore's early selection marks the ninth Lady Vol all-time to be picked in the first round.

"It's an unbelievable feeling," said Moore from her apartment in Knoxville. "Before me is a great opportunity to play for the Liberty. I'm really excited to be in the same backcourt as Becky Harmon (NYL point guard), she's always been one of my favorite players to watch in the WNBA."

Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt was not surprised that Moore was picked so high. "I've always thought that Loree Moore was a prototype WNBA guard," said Summitt. "With her size, she is formidable on both sides of the ball. I've always said, we'll see Loree Moore's game at its best on the next level. I'm excited and proud for her," continued Summitt.

A 5-9 guard, Moore averaged 5.1 ppg and 4.6 rpg during her senior season. After a tremendous All-SEC rookie season, a sensational sophomore campaign, her junior season was shaping up as her best in an Orange & White uniform before it was cut short by a torn ACL. As a senior, she faced the challenges of tonsillitis and a broken nose. She appeared in 118 games during her Tennessee tenure including 92 career starts. Despite missing 24 games to injury, she moved ahead of current Lady Vol assistant coach Holly Warlick to rank sixth on the all-time steals list with 280. A prolific passer as well, she finished ninth on the all-time assists list at UT with 422. She had career highs of 15 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and eight steals. A sociology major at UT, Moore is on track to graduate in 2005.

Moore's coach at the New York Liberty, Patty Coyle, was pleased to get the Lady Vol guard. "We had a definite need in the backcourt and Loree will be a great fit and an outstanding guard for us," said Coyle. "Loree has the size and the experience - on top of that, she's a great point guard."

A 6-2 forward, Ely averaged 14.4 ppg and 7.0 rpg during her senior campaign. A 2004 Kodak All-American, she was also named to the NCAA Tournament All-Regional teams all four years and as an All-SEC honoree each year. She capped her Lady Vol career as the MVP of the 2005 SEC Tournament en route to the Lady Vols winning the team title. Ely earned the rare Lady Vol rookie distinction of starting in her very first game at Tennessee. She played in 139 games with 96 career starts and tallied 1,673 career points and ranks ninth all-time. Ely grabbed 940 rebounds and finished as sixth best in Lady Vol history. Her career highs included 31 points against Georgia, 17 rebounds against Kentucky, six steals against Temple and four assists against Ole Miss in 2005 for new career highs. She will graduate in May 2005 with a degree in retail and consumer sciences from UT.

Ely was on hand in Seacaucus, N.J. for the WNBA Draft. "It's great to be picked by San Antonio," said Ely. "It's an honor and a privilege to be able to play in the WNBA. Right now, I'm just soaking it all in."

Summitt was excited for Ely, as well. "Shyra's versatility as a 3 or a 4 will allow her to be successful scorer in the WNBA. She can put the ball on the floor, play with her back to the basket or shoot from the high post," said Summitt

Over four years, the 2005 seniors accumulated an overall record of 123-19 - an 88 percent winning percentage, four consecutive trips to the NCAA Final Four, three consecutive SEC regular season crowns and a SEC Tournament title in 2005.

MOORE'S TENNESSEE CAREER STATS
			Total		3-Point				Rebounds
Year	GP-GS	Min/Avg	FG-FGA	Pct	FG-FGA	Pct	FT-FTA	Pct	Off-Def	Tot	Avg	PF-FO	Ast	TO	Blk	Stl	Pts/Avg
2001-02	34-12	726/21.4	71-152	.467	9-28	.321	43-62	.694	16-77	93	2.7	63-0	133	92	6	80	194/5.7
2002-03	38-38	1029/27.1	95-202	.470	24-61	.393	30-49	.612	25-104	129	3.4	77-0	145	96	6	97	244/6.4
2003-04	17-17	471/27.7	58-126	.460	10-33	.303	9-17	.529	29-65	94	5.5	39-1	48	47	2	48	135/7.9
2004-05	29-25	792/27.3	56-166	.337	13-42	.310	23-31	.742	59-73	132	4.6	64-1	96	71	4	55	148/5.1
TOTAL	118-92	3018/25.6	280-646	.433	56-164	.341	105-159	.660	129-319	448	3.8	243-2	422	306	18	280	721/6.1
ELY'S TENNESSEE CAREER STATS
			Total		3-Point				Rebounds
Year	GP-GS	Min/Avg	FG-FGA	Pct	FG-FGA	Pct	FT-FTA	Pct	Off-Def	Tot	Avg	PF-FO	Ast	TO	Blk	Stl	Pts/Avg
2001-02	33-22	691/20.9	123-251	.490	0-1	.000	62-106	.585	60-117	177	5.4	86-2	36	77	13	27	308/9.3
2002-03	36-8	804/22.3	142-287	.495	3-8	.375	67-94	.713	70-168	238	6.6	77-0	47	82	12	42	354/9.8
2003-04	35-35	1055/30.1	213-443	.481	0-1	.000	82-121	.678	101-178	279	8.0	80-2	53	92	13	44	508/14.5
2004-05	35-31	1082/30.9	193-423	.456	5-17	.294	112-155	.723	72-174	246	7.0	84-1	58	113	10	54	503/14.4
TOTAL	139-96	3632/26.1	671-1404	.478	8-27	.296	323-476	.679	303-637	940	6.8	327-5	194	364	48	167	1673/12.0

University of Tennessee Athletics

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