Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Dietrick Invited to Training Camp With WNBA's Washington Mystics
April 17, 2015 | Women's Basketball
PRINCETON, N.J. – After leading the Princeton University women's basketball team to an unblemished 30-0 regular season and fifth Ivy League title in six years, senior Blake Dietrick will turn her attention to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) after signing a training camp contract with the Washington Mystics.
“Blake came to Princeton to have it all,” said head coach Courtney Banghart. “She wanted the best education that was offered and she wanted the opportunity to do big things in the athletic arena. This is a dream come true for Blake.”
“Training camps are very limited in the WNBA, and for Mike Thibault and the Washington Mystics to call me on draft night inviting Blake to have the opportunity to make the team roster this summer is a feeling I won't ever forget for her,” added Banghart. “Blake's developed so much as a player and a leader during her time at Princeton. We will help her prepare for this great opportunity and will be in full support every step of the way.”
Despite going undrafted through three rounds of the WNBA Draft on Thursday, Apr. 16, Dietrick was invited to participate in the team's training camp this coming May. Harvard's Allison Feaster is the only Ivy League player to ever be drafted, going fifth overall to the Los Angeles Sparks in the 1998 draft.
Scheduled to play three preseason games in preparation for the 2015 season, the Mystics will join the Atlanta Dream, Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever in the Dream Classic to be held at the KFC Yum! Center on May 23 in Louisville, Ky. Washington will return home for a game against the Minnesota Lynx on May 27 before closing out the preseason against the Indiana Fever on May 29.
“I am so excited and humbled to be invited to camp,” said Dietrick. “It is a dream come true and I have the opportunity to show them what I can do and earn a spot on the team. I can't wait to get to work preparing and keep playing the game I love.”
Recently wrapping up a stellar senior season with the Tigers, Dietrick averaged career-highs in points (15.1), assists (4.9), and rebounds (4.5) per game en route to Associated Press and WBCA Honorable Mention All-America honors. A seven-time Ivy Player of the Week, she was the conference's unanimous choice for Player of the Year. Setting a single-season program record for assists (157), her 483 points in 2014-15 are tied for the third highest total in school history.
A two-time first-team All-Ivy selection, Dietrick wrapped up a decorated career ranked third on the Princeton charts in three-pointers made (210) and three-point shooting percentage (.395). Sitting fourth in assists (346) and 11th in scoring (1,233), she poured in a team-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting in her final collegiate contest, a NCAA second-round loss to eventual Final Four participant Maryland. Dietrick later represented the Tigers in the annual State Farm College 3-point Shooting Championships at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.