NU with a Local Pro

Here's a short post from Amy Pooley who will be writing every once and a while for WRR in the future. Today, she talks about NU women's basketball star Amy Jaeschke who was picked by our local Chicago Sky in the WNBA draft...

The WNBA draft was just a couple days ago, and NU’s own #22 Amy Jaeschke (I’ve always said the 22 stands for double-double) was drafted by the Chicago Sky as the 27th overall pick and the third pick of the third round. This is an exciting day for Amy and for Northwestern, as she is the first Wildcat to be drafted into the WNBA and the first to be drafted by a pro basketball team in the United States since Evan Eschmeyer went to the Nets back in 2000. Amy averaged 21.4 points and 9.0 rebounds this season while tallying 104 blocks. She is the Big Ten’s 4th all-time leading shot blocker.

Amy grew up in Wilmette and attended New Trier High School, so playing for the Sky will give her the opportunity to stay near home and bring her local fan base with her. The Sky have to like having picked a potential backup to Sylvia Fowles who has such strong Chicago connections. Unfortunately, the WNBA draft isn’t the end of the road for playing on the team, as Amy and the Sky’s other draftees -- Gonzaga’s Courtney Vandersloot, Boston College’s Carolyn Swords, and Tennessee’s Angie Bjorklund – will compete for the opportunity to wear a Sky uniform after final cuts are made. Let’s hope that Amy makes some noise on the court the next couple of months – the Sky play their first game of the WNBA season on June 4th (the first home game is the Friday afterward), and it’d be awesome to see Amy get some minutes in a Sky uniform.

Congratulations to Amy! Northwestern’s incredibly lucky to count her as an alumna, and we wish her the best of luck as she begins her pro career. We will keep you updated on how Amy’s doing over the next few months.