MARGINEAN Gabriela

General
WNBA SPONGE
At age 17 she moved from Romania to the United States of America. She initially attended high school for two years before going on to attend Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, from 2006-2010. After college she was the 26th pick of the 2010 WNBA draft by Minnesota Lynx, where she played the middle part of that season before returning to Europe to play in Greece. "I didn't originally look to go to the United States of America. Anca Popovic [Romanian basketball player] from Arad, who was in the US, called me and asked me if I wanted to go there. I made the decision immediately and I left when I was 17. My father was against the decision but my mother wasn't. I knew I wanted to play outside Romania and I followed my dream. I wasn't really thinking about the US, but I followed my dream. The two years of high school helped me a lot and meant a lot to get used to both English and food, and when I entered college I already knew a lot more. It was a huge achievement, because I came from a middle school and got into the WNBA. Okay, I've only played in the middle of the season, but I've shown that I can play at that level. The few months spent there helped me a lot for the rest of my career, I learned a lot. I was like a sponge, I listened to everyone." (drexeldragons.com, 13 Aug 2020, 01 Jan 2010; 3la3.ro, 23 Apr 2020)

5-ON-5 COLLEGIATE CAREER
While playing for Drexel University she was named MVP of the Colonial Athletic Association [CAA] Tournament in 2009 and was named CAA Player of the Year after leading Drexel to its first CAA championship ever. In 2007 she was named CAA Rookie of the Year, and was named team captain during her senior year in 2009/10. (drexeldragons.com, 13 Aug 2020, 01 Feb 2010)