Come May 21, it will have been two months and a day since Penn State's Tanisha Wright finished her career as a Lady Lion.

But that same day, Wright will embark on her new career, this one a slightly better paying job, with the Seattle Storm of the WNBA.

Wright was drafted 12th overall in Saturday's draft to become both the first Lady Lion to be drafted in the first round, and a new member of the reigning WNBA champions.

"Obviously it was exciting with the anticipation to hear my name called, and to find out where I was going to go," Wright said. "I'm really honored to be picked by the defending champs."

Wright, the three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, will join a team with the likes of former WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird, an all-WNBA first teamer. The Storm is scheduled to open the WNBA season on ABC against Los Angeles 33 days from now, and will be hanging its newly acquired championship banner.

Wright was the third Big Ten player drafted behind Minnesota's Janel McCarville (first overall) and Michigan State's Kristin Haynie (ninth). Wright finished her career at Penn State just five points short of 2,000, averaging 14.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 134 games.

"Obviously I would assume [Seattle] likes a lot of the things that I did in college well," said Wright, also adding that she had not talked to her new team that much, aside from future camps and workouts.

She had her best season this past season when she led Penn State to a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, after posting a career high in scoring (19.4 points per game). Her defense, however, is the most lauded asset as she joins the second-leading scoring team in the league.

Because the season starts so close to the end of the Penn State spring semester, Wright won't have much time with her new team. But, with Bird, Jackson and her other teammates, Wright believes her move to the next level will be both a great challenge and an opportunity to learn from some of the best players in the league.

"Obviously you're gonna have to pick your game up," Wright said. "Those two [Bird and Jackson] are great players, so I'll have to pick my game up and become more disciplined. By playing with those to it's gonna make you be more disciplined and be a better player."

Seattle also drafted Connecticut forward Ashley Battle in the second round and forward Stephanie Blackmon from national champion Baylor. Wright and Battle are both Pittsburgh natives, so Wright said the move across the country will be fun because the two are so familiar with each other.

Wright's backcourt mate, Jess Strom, did not get drafted in the three-round draft, though both were two of the 40 players invited to the pre-draft combine earlier this month.