Dec. 19, 2006

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane women's basketball team will honor all-time leading scorer Grace Daley at halftime of the Friday, December 29 game against Fordham at the Tulane DoubleTree Classic by retiring her jersey.

Daley, who scored 2,249 points in her career - the most of any basketball player in school history - was a three-time All-American guard for the Green Wave and led Tulane to the NCAA Tournament in each of her four years from 1997-2000. She was an integral part of two Conference USA regular season championship teams and three C-USA tournament championships, winning the tournament MVP trophy in 1999.

Inducted into the Tulane Hall of Fame in 2006, the 2000 Conference USA Player of the Year was a three-time All-Conference USA selection. The Ocala, Fla. product was named the C-USA Freshman of the Year in 1997 and scored more than 550 points, pulled down at least 100 rebounds and compiled at least 70 assists in each of her last three seasons.

After graduating from Tulane with a degree in English, she was first round draft pick and fifth overall selection in the 2000 WNBA Draft, by the Minnesota Lynx. She spent four seasons in the WNBA with the Lynx, New York Liberty, Houston Comets and Phoenix Mercury. She also has played basketball professionally in Europe, as she led the Italy Pro League in 2002-03 - one of her two seasons with Viterbo. She also has played in the French Pro League, Spanish Pro League, Euroleague and the FIBA Cup. Currently, she is playing with USK Praha of the Czech Pro League.

Daley joined the Tulane women's basketball program for the 1996-97 season, scoring 13.2 points per game while helping Tulane to its first Conference USA regular season and tournament championships. She capped her rookie campaign by earning Conference USA Freshman of the Year honors.

As a sophomore, earned WBCA/Kodak All-America honorable mention honors for the first time, while scoring 20.1 points per contest and shooting over 51 percent from the field, helping Tulane to its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament.

Early in her junior season, Daley became the 12th member of the 1,000 point club and was named an All-American by the Associated Press, while picking up another honorable mention All-America by WBCA/Kodak. She averaged 19.1 points per game - again shooting over 51 percent from the field - to help Tulane earn the regular season Conference USA title. She was named tournament MVP as Tulane again won the Conference USA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament.

As a senior, Daley completed her journey to the top of the all-time scoring list, finishing with her third-straight WBCA/Kodak All-America honor and All-America accolades from the Women's Basketball News Service and Associated Press. She was the 2000 Conference USA Player of the Year, scoring 21.6 points per game and earned All-Tournament Team honors as Tulane won the C-USA championship for her fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Daley graduated from Tulane as the all-time school leader in points and free throws made, records she still holds to this day, along with the top single-season scoring mark.

During her tenure, the Green Wave compiled a record of 99-23, earned two C-USA regular season titles, three C-USA tournament championships and four berths in the NCAA Tournament. Daley was named to the Green Wave's Tulane 25th Anniversary Team in 2001.

Following the number retirement ceremony on December 29, Tulane will host a post-game reception in Fogelman Arena. The Green Wave and Fordham Rams are scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off, following the first game of the Tulane DoubleTree Classic, which sees Ole Miss take on Texas-Arlington at 5 p.m.

For ticket information, contact the Tulane Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE, visit the ticket office located in the James W. Wilson Center on Tulane's campus, or visit TulaneGreenWave.com

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