The Silver Stars set their final roster for the 2010 season today after waiving forward Alysha Clark and center Tasha Humphrey. The 2010 roster includes a core of Silver Stars veterans in guards Helen Darling, Becky Hammon, Edwige Lawson-Wade and Belinda Snell; forwards Megan Frazee and Sophia Young; and center Ruth Riley. Last season, this group helped the Stars finish 15-19 and return to the playoffs for the third consecutive year as they reached the Western Conference Semi-Finals. During the offseason, the Stars added guard Roneeka Hodges via a sign and trade deal with Minnesota, forward Crystal Kelly by a trade with the Shock that sent Shanna Crossley to Tulsa, and center Michelle Snow in a deal that sent Dalma Ivanyi and second round picks in the 2011 WNBA Draft to the Atlanta Dream. San Antonio rounds out its roster with center Jayne Appel, the Silver Stars first round (5th overall) pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft. Hammon ended the '09 campaign with her best scoring season in her career as she averaged 19.5 point per game; her scoring tally ranked her no. 2 in the league just behind Phoenix guard Diana Taurasi, who led the league with 20.4 points en route to their second WNBA title. Hammon and Young both were selected to play in the WNBA All-Star game and the two helped the West beat the East by a 130-188 mark. Young also had a career season in 2009 as she became the third player for the 2006 Draft Class to reach the 2,000-point park in her career. Additionally, Young and Hammon both scored over 30 points against Detroit on Aug. 29, marking the first time in franchise history that two Silver Stars players scored 30-plus points in a game. Young tied her career-high of 31 points while Hammon tallied 32 points and surpassed the 4,000-point benchmark in doing so. Hodges, a 5'11" guard, played four seasons in Houston then spent the 2009 season with Minnesota, where she averaged 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.6 steals and 27.3 minutes per game in 33 games. Hodges finished the 2009 season ranked ninth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (68-of-171, .398); the Houston Comets second round (15th overall) of the 2005 WNBA Draft has played in 136 games - including 45 starts - and is averaging 6.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.1 blocks and 17.6 minutes per game for her career. After being drafted the Houston Comets in the third round pick (31st overall) of the 2008 WNBA Draft, Kelly has played two seasons in the WNBA with the Sacramento Monarchs and the Detroit Shock and has amassed career averages of 5.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. In her rookie season, she shot 85.0% from the free throw line which led all rookies on the team and put her second overall among the Monarchs players. Kelly played in 23 games for Sacramento in 2009 before being sent to Detroit in exchange for Kristin Haynie; Kelly finished the season with the Shock and tallied 2.8 points per game and 1.3 rebounds per game in 11 games. Snow, the Houston Comets first round (10th overall) pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft, has accumulated averages 9.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks per game in 266 career games played. After making two starts her rookie season, she earned a permanent starting position and was named the league's Most Improved Player in 2003; she also helped the Comets reach the playoffs in four her seven seasons with the team. The two-time WNBA All-Star (2005, 2006) joined Atlanta in 2009 and was an integral part in helping the Dream improve upon its inaugural season in which it finished with a record of 4-30; Snow helped Atlanta finish second in the Eastern Conference with an 18-16 record and reach the playoffs for the first time. In 2009-10, Appel helped Stanford finish 36-2 and advance to the 2010 NCAA Women's Final Four in San Antonio, where they fell to undefeated Connecticut. The 6'4" center from Pleasant Hill, Calif., averaged 13.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in addition to leading the Cardinal in blocks (58) in the regular season, collecting a multitude of accolades along the way, including Lowe's Senior CLASS Award All-America First Team, State Farm Coaches' All-America Team; Associated Press All-America Second Team; ESPN.com All-America Second Team; Wade Trophy Finalist; Wooden Award Finalist; Pac-10 Player of the Year; and All-Pac-10 First Team. The Silver Stars open the 2010 regular season this Saturday with a 7 p.m. tip-off against the visiting Atlanta Dream. Tickets for Opening Night start at just $10 and are on sale now. Visit www.sasilverstars.com or call (210) 444-5090 for more information. 2010 San Antonio Silver Stars Roster No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. D.O.B. From 32 Jayne Appel C 6-4 210 05/14/1988 Stanford '08 30 Helen Darling G 5-6 164 08/29/1978 Penn State '01 40 Megan Frazee F 6-3 191 03/29/1987 Liberty '09 25 Becky Hammon G 5-6 136 03/11/1977 Colorado State '99 5 Roneeka Hodges G 5-11 165 07/19/1982 Florida State '04 42 Crystal Kelly F 6-2 201 09/15/1986 Western Kentucky '08 9 Edwige Lawson-Wade G 5-6 130 05/14/1979 France 00 Ruth Riley C 6-5 198 08/28/1979 Notre Dame '01 10 Belinda Snell G 5-11 165 01/10/1981 Australia 2 Michelle Snow C 6-5 158 03/20/1980 Tennessee '02 33 Sophia Young F 6-1 165 12/15/1983 Baylor '06
