Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Annie Tarakchian Invited to WNBA's NY Liberty's Training Camp
April 18, 2016 | Women's Basketball
PRINCETON, N.J. – After helping the Princeton women's basketball team become the first Ivy League team to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament last season, senior Annie Tarakchian signed a training camp contract with the Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) New York Liberty.
"What a great opportunity for Annie as she embarks on her professional basketball career," said head coach Courtney Banghart. "I'm so thrilled for the New York Liberty; our local franchise is getting a player that offers so much to any team. She can shoot, score, rebound at an elite level, play with others and she will always give it her best. Annie is the consummate teammate and her size and skill set make her a difficult matchup."
While she wasn't drafted in the three-round WNBA Draft on Thursday, Apr. 14, Tarakchian was invited to participate in the Liberty's training camp. 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.
The Liberty are scheduled to play two preseason contests this season. New York will battle the Chicago Sky at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark, Del., on May 1st. The Liberty and Minnesota Lynx compete at the Levien Gymnasium on the campus of Columbia University on May 5th (7 p.m.). That preseason game is only open to the Liberty's season-ticket holders.
Tarakchian had a banner senior campaign as she set career-highs in points (12.3) and rebounds (9.4) per game along with a personal-best 59 three-pointers made. The stretch player was an All-Ivy second team honoree and was named Ivy League Player of the Week three times. In her final collegiate contest, Tarakchian scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds vs. No. 25 West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That double-double was the 20th of her career.
A two-time All-Ivy selection, Tarakchian finished her four years at Princeton ranked fifth in rebounds (749), 10th in rebound average (6.8) and 10th in games played (111). Her senior class went 97-23 including a 50-6 record in the Ivy League. She was part of two Ivy League Championships along with the program's first ever NCAA and WNIT Tournament victories.
Tarakchian helped the team win at least 20 games in each of her four seasons including sweeps in 20 of its 23 Ivy League weekends. During Tarakchian's time, Princeton had two national rankings at No. 24 in 2012 and No. 13 during her junior season which was the highest ever in Ivy women's basketball history.
Banghart noted about Tarakchian, "Most of all, Annie is a winner. She came to Princeton with a desire to be great. She put in the work every day and she's soon leaving as a WNBA prospect. I'm bursting with pride. Our loss is the WNBA's gain."