Nicole Levandusky

        Throughout the season, WNBA coaches and scouts would come to Xavier to watch its seniors, focusing primarily on post players Jennifer Phillips and Taru Tuukkanen, both 6-foot-3. Often they would walk away impressed with 5-9 guard Nicole Levandusky.

        “I was trying to sell people on Nicole all year saying, "You've got to watch this kid,'” XU coach Melanie Balcomb said. “And they were (saying), "We don't need a shooter; she's slow” ... It's kind of the story of Nicole's life.”

        Levandusky is expected to be the first Musketeer ever selected by the WNBA when the league holds its annual draft today.

        There are 16 WNBA teams. The first round, which begins at 11:30 a.m., will be televised live on ESPN2. All four rounds can be followed live on NBA.com TV and online at WNBA.com.

Jennifer Phillips | ZOOM |

        “I think all three of them are going to go,” New York Liberty assistant coach Patty Coyle said. “I would imagine they'll probably go in the middle rounds. They're good, solid players that you need.”

        In a mock draft online, Seattle Storm assistant coach Kay James has Levandusky being picked 10th overall by the Orlando Miracle, and Seattle director of basketball operations Missy Bequette has Levandusky going to the Cleveland Rockers at No.11. But Seattle head coach Lin Dunn and assistant Gary Kloppenburg do not have Levandusky being selected in the first round.

        Balcomb said she has talked to “numerous coaches” and expects Levandusky to go in the first or second second and Phillips in the third or fourth round. Tuukkanen is on the bubble.

Taru Tuukkanen | ZOOM |

        “Of the three, Nicole's stock just keeps getting bigger and bigger,” Balcomb said.

        Said Coyle: “She has a gift shooting the ball. You can always find room for someone who can shoot the ball like she can shoot it, and she's tough. ... I think she can defend at this level.”

        Levandusky is the NCAA's No.8 all-time 3-point shooter and tied for 18th in career steals.

        Michael Cooper, the Los Angeles Sparks coach, said if she is available when his team picks at No.16, “she would be highly considered.”

        “We could sure use an outside shooter with the strength that we have underneath,” he said. “We're looking for someone to extend the defense, and she can definitely do that. Another thing I like about her is she's a gym rat. To get to the next level, you have to be that.”

        All three Musketeers participated in the WNBA pre-draft camp in Chicago April 6-7. Balcomb was told coaches considered Levandusky “one of the hardest workers at the camp.”

        Phillips, who impressed coaches with her effort in Chicago, is XU's No.5 all-time scorer and No.5 rebounder and holds the school record for career field goal percentage.

        Tuukkanen is XU's second all-time scorer and No.3 rebounder. She was not happy with her performance at the pre-draft camp.

        “The first day, I really didn't get the ball at all,” Tuukkanen said. “The second day, I got it, but I didn't do anything with it except throw it away. I don't expect to get drafted. I have a couple agents that have been calling me, and they both say they think that I will, but I don't see it happening.”

        Tuukkanen, a native of Finland, said she plans to play in one of the bigger countries in Europe.

        Nikki Kremer, who played briefly in Germany and France, was the first player from the XU women's program to play professionally. Balcomb believes having Musketeers drafted today will help her program.

        “Kids today are growing up dreaming of playing in the WNBA,” Balcomb said. “We can use it as a recruiting tool. It's more exposure for the program. It'll be our first mail-out (to recruits) when they make it.”

        The WNBA begins its fifth season May 28. Teams play a 32-game schedule.

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