Fantasia Goodwin was anxiously waiting and hoping to hear her named called by WNBA President Donna Orender on April 9, meaning she had just been drafted to play at the highest level of women’s basketball.

She went to bed that night disappointed.

But now, two weeks later, she has received the opportunity she wanted. And one of her former Syracuse teammates will have the chance at making the pros, too.

Goodwin and last season’s starting center Vaida Sipaviciute signed training camp contracts as unrestricted free agents with the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Sparks, respectively. Each will compete for a roster spot before the season begins in mid-May. They are the fourth and fifth SU players to join WNBA rosters since the league’s inception in 1997.

So far at least, it’s a fitting end to the most successful season in SU’s program history, in which the Orange went 22-9 and reached the NCAA Tournament.

‘I think they have a shot,’ SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said in a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon. ‘People don’t bring these kids as token tryouts. Both of those kids have a legitimate chance of making these teams. They both played in the Big East – the highest level of play in women’s basketball.’

Neither player was available to comment for this story.

Sipaviciute’s signing is especially exciting for Hillsman, who recruited her as a high school player in Lithuania and brought her to the United States. In her four-year Syracuse career, Sipaviciute played in 116 games and scored 1,180 career points, good for 11th-best in school history. Her 234 blocks put her second on Syracuse’s career list, and her 41-point, 21-rebound performance on Nov. 29, 2005 against Colgate is the best single- game performance by an Orange player.

This season, Sipaviciute started all 31 games, averaging 4.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. At 6-foot-4, she would be tied for the second-tallest player on Los Angeles’ roster, so her size may have played a factor in her signing.

‘Vaida has to make those 12-foot face-up shots because they will push you off the block at that level,’ Hillsman said. ‘Playing on the block will be more difficult, but she’s good facing the basket.’

Goodwin joined Syracuse as a junior college transfer from Monroe (N.Y.) College before the 2006-07 season and made an immediate contribution. In her first year with the Orange, the 6-foot forward averaged 12 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Last year, Goodwin accepted coming off the bench and thrived as the team’s first player off the bench. She led SU with nine double-doubles and improved her rebounding average up to eight per game, including a school-record 25 boards on Dec. 22 against Saint Peter’s.

Goodwin was the only Syracuse player to enter her name in the WNBA Draft. Though she wasn’t drafted, Detroit is giving her a second shot. The head coach of Detroit is Bill Laimbeer, the ex-NBA player and father of former SU forward Keri Laimbeer.

To make the team, Goodwin will have to overcome her undersized frame by rebounding as well as she did in college.

‘Fanny has to play hard and keep running the floor hard,’ Hillsman said. ‘She has to prove how tenacious she is on the glass.’

When last season ended in disappointment – a 59-55 loss to Hartford in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament – Hillsman told Goodwin and Sipaviciute to stay in shape, knowing the WNBA was a possibility.

Apparently, both listened, and now they have the opportunity to play professional basketball somewhere. The only question now is where.

‘It says a lot for what they’ve done and how far we’ve come,’ Hillsman said. ‘Now we have two players who have a chance to play at the professional level either in the WNBA or internationally. They will both have the chance to play at one of those levels.’

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on April 21, 2008 at 12:00 pm