STATE COLLEGE, Pa., April 19, 2002 - Penn State forward Rashana Barnes (Philadelphia, Pa.) was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks in the third round of the 2002 WNBA Draft as the 48th selection overall on Friday.

Barnes is the seventh Penn State player to be selected in the WNBA Draft since the league began play in 1997. Previous Lady Lions to be selected in the WNBA Draft are Tina Nicholson (1997/Cleveland), Suzie McConnell-Serio (1998/Cleveland), Angie Potthoff (1999/Minnesota), Helen Darling (2000/Cleveland), Andrea Gardner (2000/Houston) and Maren Walseth (2001/Sacramento).

Barnes finished her Penn State career as the 11th Lady Lion to total 1,000 points and 700 in a career, finishing with totals of 1,024 points and 728 rebounds overall. She ranks third in Penn State annals in career blocks at 189, 10th in rebounds (728) and 24th in points (1,024).

The Los Angeles Sparks will open training camp on May 29th at Loyola Marymount University and will begin preseason play on Sat., May 11 when they face the Phoenix Mercury at 7:00 p.m. (PT) at the Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif. The Sparks will open the regular season on Memorial Day weekend before a national television audience on NBC on Saturday, May 25 vs. the New York Liberty live at the Staples Center beginning at 3:00 p.m. (ET).

Seattle selected Connecticut's Sue Bird as the first overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft. Fellow Husky Swin Cash was drafted second overall by Detroit and Oklahoma's Stacey Dales was chosen third overall by Washington.

A total of nine players from the Big Ten Conference where selected in the four-round draft including Wisconsin's Tamara Moore (16th overall/Miami) and Jessie Stomski (57th overall/Charlotte), Indiana's Jill Chapman (21st overall/Detroit), Purdue's Kelly Komara (34th overall/Indiana), Iowa's Lindsey Meder (38th overall/Minnesota) and Jerica Watson (45th overall/Miami), Michigan's Alayne Ingram (44th overall/Sacramento) and Ohio State's Tomeka Brown (55th overall/Orlando).