Phoenix makes Brittney Griner WNBA's top pick

BRISTOL, Conn. -- Brittney Griner left an indelible mark on women's college basketball. Now she's ready to take on the pros.

The Phoenix Mercury took the 6-8 Baylor center with the top pick in the WNBA draft last night. Despite knowing she would be picked first, the two-time AP Player of the Year admitted she was extremely nervous. "It's a dream come true. I'm like a little kid in Disney World the first time meeting all the characters," Griner said. "Sitting at the table, they said 15 seconds and my heart started beating so fast. I was grabbing the tablecloth underneath."

Griner finished as the second-leading scorer in NCAA women's basketball history with 3,283 points. She is the top shot-blocker ever, shattering both the men's and women's college marks with 748. She also had a record 18 dunks.

The Liberty and new coach Bill Laimbeer took Texas A&M's Kelsey Bone fifth and chose Oklahoma State's Toni Young two picks later.

Chicago added a budding star in Elena Delle Donne with the No. 2 pick to an already stacked roster that just missed making the playoffs last season. The versatile 6-5 forward was second in the nation in scoring (26.0) and averaged 8.5 rebounds. She finished her career at Delaware with 3,039 career points.

Tulsa took Notre Dame guard Skylar Diggins with the third pick. Diggins averaged 17.1 points, 6.1 assists and 3.1 steals and helped the Irish reach the Final Four the past three seasons.

WNBA president Laurel Richie opened the draft by offering the league's thoughts and prayers to those affected by the bombings in Boston.

-- AP