GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Just want to thank you guys all for being here. I want to thank my family, my parents, my brothers, everyone watching at home for just always supporting me in this new journey, and I'm super excited to be a member of the Chicago Sky.
Q. As the third player of Mexican origin to get to the WNBA and the first Mexican-American brother-sister duo in the NBA and the WNBA, you're already making history and proving to all Latinas in the world that dreams can be achieved. What does that mean to you? What did you feel when you heard your name called? And what are you looking for now with the Chicago Sky?
GABRIELA JAQUEZ: I'm really thankful that me and my brother can represent the whole Latino community. Obviously being from Mexican descent is just really important for us to share our culture.
Again, all these records are great, but for me just really excited for this new opportunity to play in the WNBA and obviously with the Chicago Sky, it's going to be a lot of fun.
Q. It's almost incredible that so few Mexican-Americans have been chosen. But take us through that moment when your family was together, your parents, and your brother was watching, when your name was called fifth in the WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky.
GABRIELA JAQUEZ: I think there was a lot of anticipation leading up to that moment, and I was just really shaky. I was so excited. There was so much emotions.
Then obviously, when I heard my name called, I was just like, it's surreal. I know where I'm going, know what team I'm going to be on, where I'm going to move. And that was obviously great. I'm just so excited to play for Chicago and to have my parents there, my younger brother Marcos with us. And it was super amazing cheering super loud and then obviously my older brother Jaime joined in on FaceTime, which really meant a lot, and just think we always are going to support each other that way.
Q. You had a lot of success in the NCAA championships. How are you going to bring your success in big pressure cooker moments to the Chicago Sky?
GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Yeah, for me going into every game, just doing whatever the team needs and doing whatever I can to help the team win. And I think for me, you know, in pressurized moments, just staying calm, just having trust in the work and realizing that I am meant for this moment, and I have prepared for it.
Q. Can you sum up for you and your teammates the last, you know -- probably just finished one party a few days ago, and here you are again now.
GABRIELA JAQUEZ: It's really hard to sum up because there's so much. I think that we're just on a high right now. We just won the national championship. A lot of us have also graduated college, which is a huge step and something to be super proud of, especially at UCLA. And then we got to go to Jimmy Kimmel, a Laker game, Clipper game, dance, have the celebration at Pauley Pavilion. We went on Good Morning America this morning.
Obviously, a lot of us are here at the draft tonight being drafted. It's just been a special moment. What I'm most happy about is that we just get to share it together and just cheer each other on.
Q. When you think about the Sky, I'm just wondering what your conversations were ahead of time. Have you sort of taken a look at the roster of who's there, and the ways in which you fit. You obviously are a bit of a Swiss Army knife when it comes to basketball. So I'm just wondering where you see that sort of on-court fit and what they said?
GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Yeah, I think honestly just the style that I play and my mentality. I think I can play with a lot of teams. I can fit well in a lot of systems.
Just talking with them, just wanting to create an amazing team with great culture and so I'm just excited to be a part of that.
Q. I'm curious how much you were following what was going on with the CBA while you were going through your senior season. But I want to understand how much you knew about what life was like in the WNBA before this transformational CBA?
GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Yeah, I think this CBA -- I mean, I'm so thankful to be entering the league at this time and a transformational period of the W. And I couldn't be more thankful for that.
At the same time, I did know the previous one -- I didn't know too much, honestly, but Michaela Onyenwere was on staff and so she talked to us a lot and has been a great resource for all of us, and I really have appreciated her in this process.
I would just say that I'm super excited for this new CBA and just excited to enter the league right now.
Q. You played with a lot of poise in that matchup versus South Carolina. What did that matchup tell you about the physical jump you would need to make to have a long career in the WNBA?
GABRIELA JAQUEZ: Yeah, I think the physicality in the WNBA is very different than the NCAA. The reffing is also different. But luckily, I've had experience playing in FIBA basketball, playing for Team Mexico, and that has helped me and prepared me a lot, just because of the way that they are calling the game and the way that I'm playing against women that have been playing for a really long time that are super strong.
I'm really thankful for that experience to just get a little taste of what it will be like in the WNBA.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports