WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue women’s basketball senior, Kalika France has an opportunity to extend her playing career beyond the college level. France has signed a free agent training camp contract with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.
France will report to Mystic’s training camp, beginning on April 20, where she will join her former Maryland teammate, Crystal Langhorne, who was selected in the first round by the Mystics in the WNBA Draft earlier this month.
France, a 5-foot-9 guard started all but one game for the Boilermakers this past season, averaging 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. France got hot at the end of the season, averaging 12.1 points over her final eight games, leading Purdue to a Big Ten Tournament Championship and a second-round birth in the NCAA Tournament. One of her best games of the season came in the first-round of the NCAA tournament against No. 17 Utah. France scored 17 points and knocked down a career-high eight field goals, leading Purdue to a 66-59 upset victory.
The Bladensburg, Md., native transferred to Purdue in Jan. 2007, after earning her bachelors degree in accounting from Maryland in just three and a half years. Having earned her undergraduate degree while only playing two seasons, France was eligible for the Boilermakers immediately due to an NCAA rule that has since been rescinded. At Maryland, France averaged 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds and was named to the 2004 ACC All-Freshman Team and honorable mention All-ACC the same year. Knee problems caused France to redshirt the 2005-06 season with the Terrapins. France is in the health and kinesiology graduate program at Purdue.
