Igbokwe gets WNBA shot, reunites with Davis, with training camp invite from NY Liberty
Ole Miss women’s basketball center Rita Igbokwe on Thursday accepted a training camp invite from the WNBA’s New York Liberty.
Igbokwe reunites with Marquesha Davis, her Rebel teammate of the last two seasons. The Liberty made Davis the draft’s No. 11 overall selection on Monday.
Igbokwe led the Rebels with 54 blocks last season. Ole Miss, which earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, set a new school record with 190 blocks.
“It’s definitely nice to have a team that believes in me and has my back through the tough times and the good times,” Igbokwe said earlier this season. Ole Miss finished 24-9. The Rebels won the most SEC games in a single season (12) in program history. They were bounced by Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“Definitely a great thing to have a coaching staff that believes in me, too. That allows me to grow, make mistakes and do what’s right. Now I feel like it’s starting to click (and) come together. I feel like I’m getting better at calming myself down. If y’all knew the things that were going on in my head.”
HIGHLIGHTS: Breakout Ole Miss season sends ‘bucket’ Marquesha Davis to WNBA
Davis led Ole Miss in scoring (14 points per game) last season.
She was named first-team All-SEC.
Igbokwe was second on the team in rebounding (5.8 per game). She put up the seventh-most per game (1.64) in the SEC.
Davis and Igbokwe would become the fifth and sixth Rebels to play in the WNBA should each land a spot on the Liberty’s final roster. Davis is the seventh all-time Ole Miss draftee and fifth first-rounder.
“I would say what excites me the most about coming into this Liberty team is learning from the vets that are there and just going in and continuing to grow,” Davis said. “Something that stood out to me was them looking for a two-way player, and me being just that.”
IGBOKWE PRE-OLE MISS BIO
Jonesboro, Ga. • Mundy’s Mill • Pitt
Appeared in 80 games for Pitt, making 49 starts. … Ranked 20th in the nation in 2021-22 in blocks. Her 68 were third-most in the ACC. … Led the Panthers the same season in rebounds per game (7.4). … Sixteen games with double-digit rebounds, including three double-doubles. … Averaged 5.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 1.9 BPG for her Panther career and shot 46.5 percent from the floor in 20.1 minutes. … Six career games with five or more blocks. … Had 60 blocks as a freshman, the most by a first-year Panther in Pitt history. … Three-star prospect by ESPN out of high school. … Earned First Team All-Region as a senior at Mundy’s Mill High School.
