DATE: Friday, February 28, 1997             TAG: 9702280842

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: NEW YORK                          LENGTH:   33 lines

EX-ODU STAR 2ND-ROUND PICK IN WNBA DRAFT

Former Old Dominion University star Nancy Lieberman-Cline was taken in the second round of Thursday's elite draft for the Women's NBA.

The 38-year-old Lieberman-Cline, one of the pioneers of women's basketball in the United States, was chosen with the next-to-last pick by the Phoenix Mercury.

Dena Head, a former Tennessee star who played on two United States national teams in 1994, was the first selection in the draft.

Head was chosen by the Utah Starzz. The second choice was Isabelle Fijalkowski, a former member of the French national team who played at the University of Colorado, taken by the Cleveland Rockers.

Head played for U.S. teams that won the title in the 1994 Goodwill Games and finished third in the World Championships.

Lynette Woodard, who along with Lieberman-Cline was the best-known player in the draft, was taken in the second round.

Woodard, captain of the 1984 U.S. Olympic gold medalists, was taken with the second pick of the round by Cleveland.

Zheng Haixia, a 6-foot-8 center who played for four Chinese Olympic teams was the last selection, going to the Los Angeles Sparks.

The WNBA will start play June 21 and continue for 10 weeks.

Each team now has four players, including two each allocated earlier. They include such players from the 1996 Olympic gold medal team as Sheryl Swoopes (Houston), Ruthie Bolton-Holifield (Sacramento) and Rebecca Lobo (New York).

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