Amber Orrange selected by New York Liberty in WNBA Draft

April 17, 2015, 12:25 a.m.

Amber Orrange became the 24th Stanford player overall and 10th in the past nine years to hear her named called in the WNBA Draft when the New York Liberty selected the guard with the 23rd overall pick on Thursday night at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Orrange will join fellow Cardinal alumna Candice Wiggins in New York, who was signed by the Liberty as a free agent in March.

Amber Orrange (right)
Amber Orrange (right) has been drafted by the New York Liberty as the 23rd overall pick. (RAHIM ULLAH/The Stanford Daily)

The Houston, Texas native, who completed her academic work at Stanford in science, technology and society a quarter early with the completion of finals at the end of the winter term, finished her career in 2014-15 averaging career bests in points (13.3) and rebounds (4.0). Orrange is one of just five Stanford players with 1,000 career points and 500 assists, joining Jennifer Azzi, Sonja Henning, Jeanette Pohlen and Nicole Powell.

Her 1,426 career points rank 20th all-time at Stanford and her 552 assists are seventh. She is one of just seven Cardinal to reach the 500-assist plateau, joining Sonja Henning (757), Jennifer Azzi (751), Milena Flores (644), Jamila Wideman (585), Nicole Powell (577) and Jeanette Pohlen (560).

A consistent performer through her career at Stanford, Orrange is also fifth in school history in games played (146) and fourth in minutes (4,200). With Orrange on the floor, Stanford went 127-19 over her four years, including a 65-7 mark in Pac-12 games. She guided Cardinal squads to 59 wins in 64 games played in Maples Pavilion, three Pac-12 regular-season titles, three Pac-12 Tournament Championships, two Final Fours, four Sweet 16s and a 12-4 mark in 16 NCAA Tournament games.

Orrange posted career averages of 9.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 28.8 minutes per game. She shot 46.5 percent from the floor, 37.1 percent from 3-point range and 79.5 percent at the line.

The two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention awardee played a key role in the Cardinal’s run to its 11th Pac-12 Tournament title in early March. She led Stanford in scoring at the event (16.0 ppg) on 47.7 percent shooting as was name its All-Tournament Team for her efforts. Orrange scored a team-high 18 in both the quarterfinal and semifinal and set a career high with six steals in the championship against Cal.

A three-time All-Pac-12 selection, Orrange also made the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team for the first time after securing a defensive honorable mention nod as a junior. Nationally in 2015, she received recognition as an Associated Press All-America honorable mention, WBCA Division I All-America honorable mention, WBCA All-Region VIII and Senior CLASS Award Second Team All-American.

The Cardinal advanced to its eighth consecutive Sweet 16 with an 86-76 win over Oklahoma on March 23. In her final game in Maples Pavilion, Orrange led all scorers with 24 points against the Sooners on a career-high 11 field goals to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.



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