The WNBA's New York Liberty paid tribute a rising teen basketball star who was slain in a shooting on New Year's Eve in Mount Vernon.

During Thursday night's WNBA draft, the Liberty symbolically selected Shamoya McKenzie with the unofficial 37th pick. 

"The dream came true, although she's not here," says her mother, Nadine. "It still came through for my family, because she was a superstar for my family."

McKenzie was only 13 years old when she was gunned down in the passenger seat of her mother's car. Authorities say she was an innocent bystander in a gang-related shooting.

McKenzie's junior varsity coach Israel Williams brought her to her first Liberty game at Madison Square Garden last season, and she dreamed of eventually playing for the team.

The president of the New York Liberty, the NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, says it's important for the team to keep her memory alive.

Fittingly, McKenzie joins one of the best female players to ever come out of Westchester in the draft class of 2017: Ossining graduate Soniya Chong was taken 26th overall by the Dallas Wings.