MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Tynice Martin is headed to Los Angeles.
The former West Virginia women’s basketball standout was taken in the third round — No. 34 overall — by the Sparks, who finished 22-12 last season and advanced to the semifinals of the 2019 WNBA playoffs.
Martin was the second from the last pick of the draft.
“I was kind of holding my breath there at the end,” WVU head coach Mike Carey said. “You never know what’s going to happen in these situations. You never really know what teams are looking for.”
Martin was one of seven players drafted out of the Big 12 and became Carey’s ninth draft pick and the fourth in five years.
“I think it’s great that good players are taking a chance coming here and then they’re working hard to make themselves better,” Carey said. “I think it’s great for our program.”
Martin finished her career with the Mountaineers as the school’s fourth-leading scorer with 1,980 points and was named the MVP of the 2017 Big 12 tournament.
Her senior season, though, never saw Martin get into her usual rhythm.
She shot a career-low 36.6% from the floor and shot 29% from 3-point range, which was the second-lowest of her career.
She missed most of the team’s offseason workouts this summer and the first two games of the season after she was suspended for a violation of team rules.
“She basically missed three months,” Carey said. “She just never really got any momentum going. I think that hurt her.
“I’m a little disappointed at how low she went and I’m sure she is, too.”
Los Angeles is mostly a veteran team led by Nneka Ogwumike and Chelsea Gray.
The team is coached by former Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher.
“They have a lot of veterans, so that will be good for Tynice to go in there and learn from them,” Carey said. “I think they have a need to get younger with their roster.
“I will say this, Tynice is a great young lady and she’ll go in there and work hard. She’ll do what’s necessary to build a fine career.”
The WNBA season was scheduled to begin May 15, but the opening of the season has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said during the TV broadcast of the draft that no start time has been set for this season.
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