After a year away from Cambridge in Los Angeles, former Harvard women’s basketball standout Temi Fagbenle was drafted 35th overall in the WNBA draft to the Minnesota Lynx. Fagbenle transferred to the University of Southern California to pursue a graduate degree after playing three years for Harvard. She is the second Harvard player ever to be selected in the WNBA draft.
During her time in Cambridge, Fagbenle was voted rookie of the year and was a three-time All-Ivy selection. In her senior year she paced the Crimson squad with 14.4 points and 10.4 rebounds a game and set a single game school record of 24 rebounds against Temple. She was also the highest ranked women’s basketball player to play for an Ivy League team and as a sophomore she represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics in London where she was youngest player on the team. Despite only suiting up three years, she is one of 19 players to score over 1,000 points for the Crimson.
At USC, Fagbenle lead a Trojan squad to a 12-0 start as she led the team in scoring and rebounding with 13.6 points and 8.7 rebounds a game. She also led USC in blocks, steals, and minutes per game. She was one of seven PAC-12 players to be drafted on Thursday night and the only one from USC. The Trojans finished 8th overall in the PAC-12 and made it to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
Fagbenle won’t join the Lynx until 2017 as she’s staying at USC to finish her masters in strategic public relations. At 6’4’’, Fagbenle will be the second tallest player on the Minnesota roster. After winning this year’s WNBA championship, the Lynx have won three WNBA championships in the past five years.
