It's 7-11 For WNBA Draftees Lambert, Crockrom

After the Lady Bears closed out their best season ever with a close 76-72 loss to Drake in the NCAA Tournament, seniors Sheila Lambert and Danielle Crockrom had to cool their heels and wait to see what their futures would hold.
On April 19, they found out. Lambert, who led the Lady Bears to their most successful season in school history, was the seventh overall pick in the WNBA draft by the Charlotte Sting. Crockrom, equally impressive on the court, followed four draft slots later as the first choice of the Utah Starzz.
"I am really looking forward to playing for the Charlotte Sting and head coach Anne Donovan," Lambert said. "Dawn Staley, their point guard, is awesome, and I will be able to learn so much from her."
It was a storybook ending for Lambert, who suffered a high ankle sprain and broken fibula in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Challenge game March 30 in San Antonio. For both young women, it capped a year studded with awards and records.
Lambert captured the prestigious Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, which honors the nation's best 5-foot-8-inch or smaller player, and then went on to earn a spot on the Kodak All-America team.
Coincidentally, Lambert's coach, Kim Mulkey-Robertson, claimed the first Naismith Award when she played guard for Louisiana Tech in 1984. Mulkey-Robertson and Lambert became the first coach-player combination to win the award.
In addition to earning Kodak All-American honors, Lambert garnered first-team All-Big 12 and third-team Associated Press All-American honors. She also finished as a finalist for both the Naismith Player of the Year and the Nancy Lieberman-Cline Step Up Award, given to the nation's top collegiate point guard.
The 5-foot-7-inch Seattle native averaged 19.9 points, 6.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 steals a game this season. Lambert set a Baylor record for assists in a season with 216, and after only two seasons ranks No. 3 on Baylor's career assist list with 398. In her two years as a Lady Bear, she averaged 20.9 points, 6.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game. 
Lambert also is the second Baylor women's basketball player to earn Kodak All-American honors. Suzie Snider Eppers joined the 10-member squad in 1977. 
Joining Lambert in the postseason honors haul was senior Crockrom, another unanimous All-Big 12 performer. Crockrom was one of three finalists for ESPN-The Magazine's College Basketball Women's Power Forward of the Year Award. She also was named Most Valuable Player in the WBCA All-Star Challenge. 
The Lady Bears enjoyed a season of firsts. With a 27-6 record, they won more games than any previous Lady Bear squad competing in the NCAA. After finishing second in the Big 12 at 12-4, Baylor advanced to the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 regional seed and won its first NCAA tournament game. Baylor's No. 7 ranking was the team's highest ever in NCAA play.