After leading Indiana to an impressive home victory over Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes, you would start to think that WNBA scouts would finally take the hint on Sara Scalia's legitimacy. Scalia's name might not be talked about much in terms of WNBA draft buzz, but that does not mean she cannot become a quality WNBA player. Actually, there is an active WNBA player whose footsteps the Hoosier could feasibly follow in.
Sami Whitcomb of the Seattle Storm, who entered the WNBA as an unheralded 29-year-old rookie from Australia back in 2017, fits the same prototype of player that Scalia is. First and foremost, she is a bonafide marksman from beyond the arc. If you leave her open for even a fraction of a second she is not going to hesitate to let it fly. And her career 37.2% success rate from 3 and runner-up finish in the 2023 Starry WNBA 3-PT Contest serve as clear evidence that giving her space is going to give you problems.
Aside from her shooting, she is a gritty 5'10" guard who is not afraid to go make a play or pick up the opposition's best perimeter scoring threat. We all know about Sara Scalia's shooting, but her secondary playmaking (2.6 APG in 2023-2024 compared to 1.6 a season ago) has been a subtle area of growth. In the win over Iowa, we saw her take on the challenge of defending Caitlin Clark whenever Chloe Moore-McNeil was not shadowing her. And honestly, despite not being renowned as a lockdown defender Scalia did an admirable job. It took Clark 26 shots to get her 24 points on the evening, and the Hoosiers were incredible collectively in keeping her in check. Individually, Scalia has shown a tendency of toughness on the defensive side of the ball and a willingness to roll her sleeves up in that department.
Those are the type of intangibles that have kept Whitcomb in the WNBA for so long (preparing for her 8th season). The shooting has been sweet, but the scoring has never been super-duper. The Aussie has a career scoring average of just 7.2 PPG, so common sense tells you that she has found other ways to sway those tasked with key player personnel decision-making.
Sara Scalia has been one of the best ball players in the Big Ten throughout the 2023-2024 campaign, and anyone denying that needs help. As she prepares for her final NCAA tournament run, it will be intriguing to see how she can respond to the challenge. She will be a major factor in determining if Teri Moren's Hoosiers can surprise a lot of people with a championship run.
Despite being such a profound piece within such a productive program the past two seasons, she still lacks the love she deserves from the professional ranks. Looking beyond all of that, Scalia can look to Whitcomb as a source of inspiration as she prepares to pursue her professional playing passions. The two are a lot similar on the court, now it is all about Scalia showing the world what she can do under the bright lights and the world paying attention.