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Atlanta Dream WNBA Draft Breakdown

By Katie Morrison

While they may not have had a first-round pick, the Atlanta Dream made the most of their options, acquiring three seasoned seniors – Monique Billings, Kristy Wallace, and Mackenzie Engram –  in the 2018 WNBA Draft last Thursday. The Dream also obtained two rookie free agent training camp signees, Alexa Hart (Ohio State) and Rosemarie Julien (Florida Gulf Coast University).

When it was time for the Dream to make their first selection in the second round of the 2018 WNBA Draft, they were surprised to find that UCLA’s Monique Billings was still available for them to select with the No. 15 overall pick.

Billings, a 6-foot-4 forward from Corona, California, is the third woman in UCLA history with 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds, as well as the Bruins’ all-time leader in blocks. She played in all 35 games in her senior year at UCLA, making 34 starts. Billings scored in double figures in 31-of-35 games and recorded at least five rebounds in all 35 games she played in. In the 2017-18 season, she averaged 12.5 points, 1.2 assists, and 9.5 rebounds.

Billings was named to the All-Pac-12 and All-Defensive Team by the coaches and media, and was named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team. She was also named to the 2017 USA Women’s U23 National Team, the Kansas City Regional All-NCAA Tournament Team, and was a top finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award.

Outside of basketball, Billings enjoys modeling, anything related to fashion, and keeps a unique collection of candles and polaroid photos.

The Dream then followed up their selection of Billings by selecting Kristy Wallace of Baylor with the 16th overall pick. Wallace is a 5-foot-11 guard from Loganholme, Queensland, Australia. Her senior year, she started 29 games before suffering a season-ending ACL injury to her right knee in the season finale against West Virginia.

Prior to her injury, Wallace was averaging a team high 5.3 assists, along with 12.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She was one of just three players in Baylor women’s basketball history to distribute 500 career assists. In addition to being named to the Australian U23 National Team in 2017, Wallace was also named to 2018 WBCA All-Region 3 Team, a recipient of the Melissa Jones Hustle and Courage Award, a 2018 WBCA All-America Honorable Mention, as well as the 2018 Unanimous All-Big 12 First Team and 2018 Big 12 All-Defensive Team.

When she is not on the court, Wallace enjoys going to the beach with her friends, and would someday like to play in the Olympics for Australia.

In the third round, the Dream selected the University of Georgia’s Mackenzie Engram, a 6-foot-2 forward from Powder Springs, Georgia. As a senior at Georgia, Engram became the 38th Lady Bulldog to hit 1,000 career points with a basket late in the second quarter against LSU. She started all 33 games in her senior season, and finished with 24 double-figure scoring efforts and eight double-digit rebounding games. Engram tied for the team lead in scoring with 12.9 points per game, and was named to the SEC Community Service Team for the second-straight season, as well as the Second-Team All-SEC.

In addition to basketball, Engram enjoys sports broadcasting, and has formed a close relationship on and off the court with ESPN and SEC Network analyst Maria Taylor. She is also the younger sister of Evan Engram, an All-SEC tight end on the Ole Miss football team who was drafted to the New York Giants in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Additionally, the Dream has signed two free agents – Ohio State senior Alexa Hart and Florida Gulf Coast University junior Rosemarie Julien – to training camp contracts.

Hart, a 6-foot-3 forward from Columbus, Ohio, averaged 5.1 points per game, 31 total assists, and 3.3 rebounds during the 2017-18 for the Buckeyes. In 2016, Hart was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten, and the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.

FGCU’s Rosemarie Julien is a 5-foot-11 forward from Port St. Lucie, Florida. As a senior, Julien started in all 36 games and led the team in points (13.2). She ranked third on the team with 45 offensive rebounds. Julien led her team to an NCAA Tournament bid in 2017-18 and a top 25 final ranking. She was named a unanimous selection to the ASUN First Team for the second straigtht year.