Tears rolled down Dana Evans’ face.
The former West Side and Louisville star exchanged hugs with her parents, Damon and Shwanda.
She pulled on the hat.
A little later than anticipated Thursday night, Evans became a WNBA draft pick.
The Dallas Wings selected her No. 13 overall as she was surrounded by family and friends during a celebration at Marquette Park Pavilion in Gary.
Most mock drafts projected Evans among the top eight picks. So it was unexpected when the 5-foot-6 guard lasted until the first pick of the second round.
“I’m excited,” Evans said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity. But I’ve been doubted so much in my life, it’s not surprising to me.
“It was hard. It was different. It was really hard. But God don’t make mistakes. This is obviously where I was supposed to go.”
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Murmurs were audible as the third through eighth picks each came and went without Evans hearing her name called. At No. 6, the New York Liberty was considered one possible destination. When the hometown Chicago Sky, another team viewed as a potential landing spot, passed at No. 8, the energy briefly drained from the room.
But it exploded when Dallas took Evans, whose parents until that moment continued to remind her to remain calm and that it simply was a matter of time.
Second-round pick Crystal Dangerfield, who went No. 16 overall to the Minnesota Lynx last season, went on to win the Rookie of the Year award.
But Evans repeated she’s even more motivated now to show her all-around skills at both ends of the floor, including her ability to score from all three levels.
Hats of each of the 12 teams were set up on a table to the side and were shuffled as selections were made. The Wings cap “felt great” to Evans.
“I like their style of play,” she said. “They let their guards go. They have a lot of talent over there. I’ll fit in pretty good.
“I’m determined and I’m ready to prove a lot of people wrong. People who overlooked me, they didn’t pick me, I’m just going to carry that over.”
Evans arrived at the venue around 5:20 p.m. During a quiet moment sitting alone on a couch, she checked her phone and asked rhetorically, “The draft starts in 20 minutes?” She cracked a smile and started fanning herself with her hand.
The gathering generated a buzz when the draft officially began at the top of the hour, and Evans let out an “Oh, my gosh” when the first pick was made.
“I always dreamed of this, and I put in the work for it,” Evans said. “So I figured one day it would happen.”
Evans, who demonstrated her immense potential virtually from the outset when she began playing in fourth grade, honed her craft at West Side with coach Rodney Fisher, who was among those in attendance Thursday. She graduated in 2017 as the fifth-leading scorer in state history with 2,832 points, the highest total among area players.
As a West Side senior, Evans was the state’s only McDonald’s All-American and was an Indiana All-Star but was the runner-up for Miss Basketball, a result that rankled rafts of people around the Region. She averaged 36.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 4.8 steals that season.
At Louisville, Evans developed into a two-time All-American. She was named the ACC player of the year each of the past two seasons, becoming the first player to earn that award after having been the sixth player of the year, an honor she received as a sophomore.
Evans averaged 20.1 points as a senior, leading the Cardinals to their second Elite Eight appearance in three seasons, with her junior season prematurely canceled due the coronavirus pandemic. She also helped Louisville reach the Final Four as a freshman, averaging 5.1 points, and the Cardinals won four straight regular-season conference titles during her illustrious career.
Her progress highlighted her unyielding work ethic and determination.
“Stuff like this, just being overlooked all the time, I just always have a chip on my shoulder,” Evans said. “Always overlooked.
“God is doing it for a reason. He’s keeping me humble, making sure I continue to work.”
Evans, who also was the ACC’s Kay Yow scholar-athlete of the year, even put together a session earlier Thursday.
“That’s what got me here, putting in the work so much,” she said. “So why not do it on draft day? Why not take my mind off some things? Because I was really nervous, anxious. So I just figured to get in the gym and do what I’ve been doing.
“I would just say (to youngsters), ‘Keep working hard. Never give up. Never doubt yourself. Stay true to yourself and just continue to put the work in.’ “
After all of Evans’ efforts, there was an opportunity for a party on the pavilion’s second level following an ESPN interview and an array of congratulations from her loved ones.
“I wanted to do it in Gary just to shine a positive light on it, like I always say,” Evans said. “There’s a lot of talent that comes out of Gary that kind of gets overlooked, so I wanted to do it in Gary to make it seem like home.”