Until Thursday, Johannah Leedham said her main goal was to play for her national team in the 2012 Olympics hosted by her country, Great Britain.
     Now she has another option on the table to seriously consider.
     Leedham of Franklin Pierce University, the fifth-highest all-time leading scorer in women's college basketball history, was selected by the Connecticut Sun in the third round of the WNBA Draft on Thursday in Secaucus, N.J.
Leedham, the 2010 State Farm/WBCA Division II National Player of the Year, was the 27th overall pick.
     LEEDHAM
     "It's a win-win situation," said Franklin Pierce head coach Steve Hancock. "She can play with her national team or sign with the Sun and try to work out a plan to play for both teams. It's my understanding that her national team wants her to play for them, considering they don't get an automatic bye into the (2012) Olympics as the host team. We'll have to wait to see what happens, but obviously today was a great day for Johannah and we're thrilled and excited for her."
     The Sun begin league play May 4 and the regular season concludes August 22. Hancock said Sun coach Mike Thibault is scheduled to hold talks with the Great Britain national team to discuss ways of allowing Leedham to play for both teams.
"Before drafting Johannah, I'm sure the Sun knew she was competing with her national team and felt they could come up with a solution to satisfy both teams," said Hancock. "There have been other (WNBA) players who were in the same situation as Johannah and things worked out. The bottom line is, whatever Johannah decides to do, it will be a good decision for her."
     Leedham is the all-time leading Division II women's basketball scorer with 3,050 points and finished her career seventh overall in Division II with 459 steals. She led the Ravens to their third straight Elite 8 tournament, which resulted in a semifinal loss this season. The Ravens were ranked second overall nationally and their 32-2 final record set a school record for most wins in a season.
     "People forget she started playing (organized) basketball at age 12 and she's now only 21," said former Ravens head coach Mark Swasey, who recruited Leedham. Swasey, now the head women's basketball coach at California University at Pennsylvania, said he never doubted Leedham would get drafted by the WNBA.
     "She's competed and has done very well against top players on the college, national and international levels," said Swasey. "Last summer she scored 17 or 19 points against the American national team A squad. She has accomplished so much in a small period of time, but she's still raw and her best days are still in front of her."
     Swasey said Leedham chose to stay at Franklin Pierce when she could have easily transferred to a Division I school.
     "She's the greatest Division II player ever and her decision to stay at Franklin Pierce changed events at the school over the last four years that affected many people in a positive way," said Swasey. "She loved the school, her teammates and most of all, her close relationship with her sister (Jennifer) was a driving force that kept her there."