LSU, Lakewood Ranch Star Basketball Player Drafted Into WNBA

BATON ROUGE, LA — A week after winning the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball title with Louisiana State University, a former Lakewood High School star player was drafted Monday night by the WNBA.

LaDazhia Williams, who was chosen by the Indiana Fever, was the fifth second round pick and the 17th overall.

She held a WNBA draft watch party at The Basin Music Hall in Baton Rouge. Watch a video of Williams celebrating the moment she was drafted that she retweeted here.

The Bradenton native was an integral part of LSU’s NCAA championship win against Iowa on April 2, scoring 20 points.

“One year ago, I made the decision to play my final year of college basketball at LSU for coach Kim Mulkey. It was the best decision of my life,” Williams wrote in an Instagram post. “Coach Mulkey elevated my game to a special place. We made history this year. I ended my college career as a national champion.

Before her single season with the Tigers, Williams played for the University of South Carolina as a freshman, followed by three seasons at the University of Missouri, according to her LSU player profile.

She started 18 games for Missouri during the 2021-22 season, averaging 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Her 58.2 field goal percentage that season ranked third all-time in the program’s history. She also had the No. 2 field goal percentage in the Southeastern Conference and No. 9 nationally.

Williams transferred to LSU for the 2022-23 season as a graduate student. There, she averaged 9.9 points, 6 rebounds and .8 blocks per game.

She “made the most of her one year” in Baton Rouge, LSU said in a news release. “The forward made an impact in multiple ways en route to the national championship, stepping up as a key player throughout the Tigers’ March Madness run.”

The Lakewood Ranch graduate was ranked as the nation’s 12th-best forward in her senior year and the No. 48 overall prospect in the Class of 2017 by ESPNW. In 2017, she was named the 8A Player of the Year by the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches, who also honored her as the 7A Player of the Year as a junior in 2016. She was also a three-time FABC first-team, all-state selection.

As a senior with the Mustangs, William averaged 19.6 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. She ended her career at Lakewood Ranch as the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. In her junior year, she led the team to the Class 7A state title game.