Wisconsin tied for the most draftees of any Big Ten school and had the highest conference pick overall when Tamara Moore and Jessie Stomski were the first Badgers ever drafted into the WNBA Friday.

Moore, a 5-foot-11 guard, was a first-round choice by the Miami Sol, and the 15th pick overall in the 64-person draft. Stomski, a 6-foot-3 forward, was a fourth-round pick by the Charlotte Sting.

The players were both Kodak/WBCA honorable mention All-Americans and first team all-Big Ten picks this season. They are just the third and fourth Badgers ever to play in the WNBA, following Keisha Anderson (Washington and Charlotte, 2001-2002) and Robin Threatt (Seattle, 2001). Anderson was the only other UW player ever drafted and played in a women’s professional basketball league as the 16th pick in the second round by the American Basketball League in 1997.

The 2001 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Moore was picked as a defensive stopper; she set the Wisconsin all-time steals record with 353, falling just 19 short of the Big Ten steals record. She also set the UW record for assists (554) and ranked second in both assists and steals in the Big Ten, averaging 6.1 and 3.0 respectively.

Stomski was UW’s leading scorer and rebounder the past two years, averaging 18.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last season. She finished second all-time in UW scoring and rebounding with 1,915 points and 961 rebounds.

Both will participate in the WNBA preseason training camps at their respective facilities starting April 29. The WNBA season begins its sixth season with a preseason game May 9, when Moore and the Sol meet the Phoenix Mercury at America West Arena in Phoenix.

— compiled from staff reports