The four-time WNBA champions from the Pacific Northwest tapped into the desert southwest late in Monday’s 2023 WNBA Draft.
And, in the process, they’re bringing one of their own back home, in a way, to the Seattle area.
Arizona guard Jade Loville, who was born in Scottsdale but ultimately played her high school ball just outside of Seattle, was selected in the third round of Monday night’s WNBA draft, 33rd overall, by the Seattle Storm.
Arizona guard Jade Loville is introduced before the Wildcats’ game against UCLA in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Women’s Tournament on Thursday, March 2, 2023, in Las Vegas.
In her lone season with the Wildcats after transferring from ASU, Loville put up nearly 10 points a game and was a key component of an Arizona team not only ranked virtually the entire season, but one that made yet another NCAA Tournament appearance and won more than 20 games for the fifth consecutive year.
Near the end of the 2022-23 regular season, as the Wildcats prepared for senior day at McKale Center, UA head coach Adia Barnes said Loville, a product of Skyline High School in Sammamish, Washington, before stints at Boise State, ASU and the UA, “works like a pro.”
Now the 5-11 Loville – an All-Pac-12 selection after scoring 16 points a game for the Sun Devils in 2021-22 before making the move from Tempe to Tucson – has a chance to be just that, a pro, with one of the most successful franchises in league history. The Storm have WNBA championships in each of the last three decades, winning it all in 2004, 2010, 2018, 2020.
Arizona Wildcats guard Jade Loville (30) receives her framed jersey from Arizona Wildcats head coach Adia Barnes during senior day at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on February 19, 2023.
Barnes herself was part of that 2004 Storm title team eight years after she was selected one spot off from Loville — Barnes was taken 33nd overall — by the Sacramento Monarchs in the WNBA’s 1998 draft.
“If you go into the gym early, you will see Jade working,” Barnes said of Loville. “She’s not just there shooting or shooting half-court shots or standing and talking and holding a ball. She’s working. She’s working on stuff that she needs to apply. She’s working on down screens, she’s sweating.”
Loville’s college career started with her working her way into the rotation as a freshman at Boise State. That first year, 2018-19, she averaged less than 10 minutes a game for the Broncos, scoring 3.8 points per game. The next year: it was up to 17.5 minutes and 8 points per game. As junior she made her way into the starting lineup, and to an All-Mountain West-nod, averaging 30 minutes per game and 17.1 points.
Loville then transferred to ASU, where she earned another all-conference nod, this time in the Pac-12, scoring 16.6 points per game for the Sun Devils.
Arizona guard Jade Loville (30) reacts after a three-point basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the UCLA in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 women's tournament Thursday, March 2, 2023, in Las Vegas.
And while her scoring numbers dipped a bit (9.8 per game in 32 appearances), Loville was a near-fixture in the UA’s starting lineup after coming to Tucson ahead of the 2022-23 season.
“She takes care of her body. She rests. She does things like a pro,” Barnes said. “I think that’s really important. Everybody doesn’t have that.”
Loville was one of five players from Pac-12 programs this past season selected Monday.
Stanford’s Haley Jones was the first of that group, going in the first round, sixth overall, to the Atlanta Dream. Jones will now be playing alongside UA-all-time great Aari McDonald two years after the pair led the Cardinal and Wildcats, respectively, in that epic 2021 NCAA Tournament championship bout two years ago. Jones and the Cardinal defeated McDonald and the Wildcats by a single point for the 2021 national title in the only Final Four trip in Arizona history.
Arizona’s Cate Reese and Shaina Pellington, both part of that UA national-runner-up team, were eligible to be drafted Monday night but weren’t selected.
Reese – the forward was Arizona’s first ever five-star recruit, a five-year starter and four-time All-Pac-12 selection – and Pellington – the guard was All-Pac-12 as a senior and the league’s Co-Most Improved Player after leading the Wildcats with 13.4 points and 3.6 assists in 2022-23 – were not drafted Monday, but the pair may still end up signing with a WNBA, like former Wildcat Sam Thomas did after last season. Thomas spent the 2021-22 season as a role player with the Phoenix Mercury; despite limited minutes and numbers, Thomas was still honored for her contributions by being named to the Associated Press’ WNBA All-Rookie team last season.
Utah forward Jenna Johnson (22) gets a hold of Arizona guard Jade Loville (30) foiling her short range shot in their Pac-12 game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 17, 2023.
If Reese and Pellington don’t lock on to a WNBA roster, the opportunity for both to play internationally is expected.
In addition to Jones and Loville, other Pac-12 selections Monday night: USC’s Kadi Sissoko (third round, 29th overall) to the Phoenix Mercury, USC’s Okako Adika (third round, 30th overall) to the New York Liberty) and Stanford’s Ashten Prechtel (third round, 34th overall to the Connecticut Sun.
As was expected, South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston went first overall to the Indiana Fever. With the second pick, the Minnesota Lynx selected Diamond Miller of Maryland, who Loville, Reese and Pellington went up against in the Wildcats’ 77-64 loss to the Terrapins in the second round of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
The 2023 WNBA season gets underway May 19.
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Guard forward Jade Loville, left, and forward Cate Reese discuss Arizona's upcoming matchups with Utah and Colorado, senior day festivities at McKale Center and more during a scheduled session with local media Feb. 15 at McKale Center. Video by Aidan Wohl, Special to the Arizona Daily Star
