April 25, 2003

SECAUCUS, N.J. - UNLV's Constance Jinks was selected in the third round of the 2003 WNBA Draft as the 38th overall pick by the Houston Comets Friday.

Jinks, a 5-foot-7 guard from Chicago, Ill., becomes only the second women's basketball player in school history to be drafted into the WNBA. Former Lady Rebel Linda Fr?hlich, the school's all-time leading scorer, was selected 26th in last year's draft by the New York Liberty.

Tulsa's Allison Curtin (12th pick) and Louisville's Lori Nero (19th pick) were also drafted by Houston. Jinks will join her fellow rookies next week along with women's basketball greats Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson and Sonja Henning, who are on the current Comets roster.

"I am very happy and relieved that the wait is over," Jinks said on her selection. "Houston has won several world championships and is a great organization. I hope to work hard and make the team."

An All-Mountain West Conference first team honoree the past two seasons, Jinks ended her illustrious UNLV career ranked third all-time in scoring with 1,818 points, ninth all-time in assists (332) and 17th all-time in rebounding (460). In 2002-03, she consistently ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring (20.2 ppg).

Since the league's inaugural season in 1997, the Comets have won four WNBA titles under head coach Van Chancellor. The league's 14 teams will open training camp on May 1, while preseason games will commence on May 6.

The WNBA regular season will get underway as scheduled on May 22. The WNBA and the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNPA) both agreed Friday on a new collective bargaining agreement covering four seasons with a league option for a fifth year. The agreement introduces the first free agency system in women's professional sports.