Candace Futrell

Candace Futrell is the second Duke to make a WNBA regular season roster. Futrell, drafted by the Connecticut Sun in the top of the third round of the 2004 WNBA draft. Futrell had surgery on her right knee and will miss the 2005 WNBA season.

In her first pro season with the Sun, Futrell had become the primary substitute for 2004 WNBA All-Star Nykesha Sales before suffering a broken right hand on July 17, 2004. She was reinstated in September in the WNBA's Olympic-year extended regular season. Futrell saw little playing time after that.

Her Sun won the Eastern Conference Championship and lost to the Seattle Storm in the WNBA finals. Candace led the Sun in shooting from three-point range, hitting 41.2 percent (11-38) of her attempts. She averaged 2.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in 7.2 minutes per game during her rookie season.

During the "off-season," the Altoona, Pa. native joined fellow Duquesne alum, point guard Shiri Sharon, with Anda Ramat Hasharon, an Israeli pro team that won the Israeli Cup Crown. She injured her right ankle while preparing for the Eurocup Final Four and had surgery in April. Futrell averaged 14.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in 37 games with ARM. She is expected to be able to resume action in late summer 2005.

The Altoona, Pa. native led the Atlantic 10 in scoring as a senior on her way to earning Co-Player of the Year honors. Her 21.4 ppg scoring average was 6th best in the nation. A three-time All-Atlantic 10 selection, Futrell was named first team All-Conference this year after being named the A-10's Most Improved Player in 2002. Futrell finished her career second on Duquesne's all-time scoring list with 1,668 points. Her 183 three-pointers made are the most by a Duquesne player. The Altoona, Pa. native scored in double figures in 77 of 108 games and totaled 20 or more points in a game 39 times.

Futrell, a three-year starter for the Dukes, participated in the 2003 USA Basketball Team Trials this past summer. She also participated in the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp on April 7-8 at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Tarrytown, NY.

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