Former Rutgers Stars Begin WNBA Seasons This Weekend
May 18 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Three former Scarlet Knights tip off their 2007 WNBA seasons this weekend. Former Rutgers standouts Cappie Pondexter, Chelsea Newton and Tammy Sutton-Brown take the court on Saturday, May 19 for their respective squads.
Pondexter and her Phoenix Mercury teammates open battle with the San Antonio Silver Stars on Saturday evening at 10:00 p.m. (NBA TV) A 2006 WNBA All-Star and a selection to the 2006 WNBA All-Rookie team, Pondexter finished fourth in the league in scoring (19.5 ppg) in her first professional season. Pondexter, the second overall pick in the draft a season ago, enjoyed one of the most prolific rookie campaigns ever - scoring the second-most points in league history. She finished in the top 20 in three other categories: three-point percentage (.373, 17th), free-throw percentage (.853, 10th) and minutes played (33.4, 5th).
Chelsea Newton. who spent this past season on the Scarlet Knights' bench as the Director of Player Development, is back in Sacramento. The third-year player played last season with the Chicago Sky where the 5-11 guard appeared in 27 games averaging 6.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. A second-round draft selection of Sacramento in 2005, Newton helped lead the team to the WNBA title. She averaged 4.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists, often drawing the toughest defensive assignment. The Monarchs host the Detroit Shock at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
Canadian-born Tammy Sutton-Brown (Markham, Ontario) begins her seventh season in the league and her first with the Indiana Fever. The 6-4 center was a free agent signing by the Fever, having spent her entire WNBA career with the Charlotte Sting who folded in the off-season. Sutton-Brown averaged 11.2 points and a team-best 5.9 rebounds and 1.83 blocks a contest a year ago. She closed the season ranked 18th in the league in rebounding, 13th in field goal percentage (.488) and second in blocked shots. The Fever entertain the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
Pondexter will return to the metro area on Sunday, June 3rd when the Mercury visit the NY Liberty at 4:00 p.m. at Madison Square Garden. Sutton-Brown makes her appearance at the Garden on Tuesday, June 5. Newton and the Monarchs travel to New York for a Sunday, July 8 contest. All three contests will be broadcast on the MSG Network.
