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VIDEO: Hsu Selection Reaction
NEW YORK – More history was made for Columbia University and the women’s basketball program on Monday, as Abbey Hsu ’24CC and Kaitlyn Davis ’23CC were both selected in the 2024 WNBA Draft, presented by State Farm. Hsu and Davis are the first two WNBA Draft selections in Columbia women’s basketball history.
Hsu was selected by the Connecticut Sun in Round 3 with the 34th overall pick. Moments later, Davis was selected by the New York Liberty with the 35th overall pick.
“I’m so proud of how Abbey and KD have represented Columbia women’s basketball on a national stage. What just happened tonight was amazing,” Columbia women’s basketball head coach Megan Griffith said. “I knew when we got these two how they would change the trajectory of the program. For them to get picked back-to-back like that was so fitting. They are such special talents and I’m incredibly proud of both of them.”
League Bound! 🔥🔥Abbey Hsu ’24 and Kaitlyn Davis ’23 are both headed to the @WNBA! Our first two picks in program history and they came Back To Back!Congrats Abbey & KD!!! 👟🦄#RoarLionRoar 🦁 | #OnlyHere 🗽#EDGE 🏀 pic.twitter.com/pvZ7g5LRYO
— Columbia Women’s Basketball (@CULionsWBB) April 16, 2024
A native of Parkland, Florida, Hsu was the 2023-24 Ivy League Player of the Year. She was named to several National Player of the Year Watch Lists throughout the season, including the Midseason Watch List for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year Award. She was also named an All-America Honorable Mention by both the Associated Press and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, and was also a finalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award.
As a senior, Hsu averaged a career-best 20.4 points per game, ranking No. 1 in the Ivy League and top 25 in the NCAA. She ended her career as the all-time leading scorer in Columbia basketball history, amassing 2,126 career points in four seasons. She is third on the Ivy League’s all-time women’s basketball scoring list.
“This is why you ask players about their dreams,” Griffith added. “I remember literally sitting with Abbey during her first year on campus, talking about being a pro and telling her it was in her cards. For this to be a full-circle moment in her career at Columbia is really special. I just knew it was going to happen – I just didn’t know when. I wasn’t surprised when her named came on the screen, I was just grateful for her coming here, for believing in me, believing in our staff and for her to get that moment.”
After playing three full seasons at Columbia (2019-20, 21-23), Davis transferred to USC to play a graduate year with the Trojans, where she advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. In her three years with the Lions, Davis was a two-time First Team All-Ivy League selection. She scored 1,083 career points and grabbed 679 rebounds, ranking top 10 all-time at Columbia. She is also the only player in program history to ever record a triple-double, doing so on January 28, 2023, at Levien Gymnasium.FOLLOW THE LIONS
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