Hemingway Signs With Liberty
4/25/2012 1:55:26 PM | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK - Syracuse women's basketball senior Iasia Hemingway has signed a training camp contract with the WNBA's New York Liberty. The 5-11 forward led the Orange in scoring this season at 14.9 points per game and was named All-BIG EAST.
“I am very excited about this opportunity,” Hemingway said. “I want to show them what I am capable of, and whether I make the team or not, I will definitely take something from the experience and am thankful for the invite because not many people have this opportunity.”
Hemingway is the first SU player to get a WNBA contract since Juanita Ward was invited to training camp with the Tulsa Shock in 2010. She joins Ward, Vaida Sipaviciute, Fantasia Goodwin, Julie McBride, Leigh Aziz and Beth Record as former Syracuse players who have been members of WNBA rosters. Sipaviciute (Los Angeles Sparks) and Goodwin (Detroit Shock) both received training camp contracts in 2008. McBride (Chicago Sky) and Aziz (Indiana Fever) signed free agent contracts in 2006 and 2003, respectively, and Record was a second round draft pick of the Sparks in 2001.
“This is great for Iasia,” Orange head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “She's a pro-style player with great attributes. I am very excited for her and I hope she has a chance to play at the professional level.”
Hemingway was a force for the Orange in her senior season, ranking eighth in the BIG EAST in scoring and grabbing 6.4 rebounds per game. She scored in double figures in 28 of 37 games, scored 20 or more six times, and broke the 30-point mark three times. Hemingway set a single-season SU record and ranked fifth nationally in free throws made and attempted in a season, going 201-of-256 at the line, good for a 78.5 percentage. The 2012 All-BIG EAST performer finished her career with an outstanding 1,622 points, 997 of which came in her two seasons with the Orange.
The Liberty is coming off a 19-15 regular season in 2011 and lost two games to one to Indiana in the first round of the playoffs.
The two-week training camp begins April 29. Other rookies joining Hemingway at Liberty training camp will be No. 7 overall pick in the WNBA Draft Kelley Cain, a 6-6 center from Tennessee; third-round pick Katelan Redmon, a 6-1 guard/forward from Gonzaga; and Lauren Broomfield, a 6-1 forward from North Carolina.
For the second of three seasons, the Liberty will play its 2012 home games at the Prudential Center in Hemingway's hometown of Newark, N.J. while Madison Square Garden is renovated.
The Liberty plays its home opener on Saturday, May 19 at 4 p.m. against the Connecticut Sun.
“I am very excited about this opportunity,” Hemingway said. “I want to show them what I am capable of, and whether I make the team or not, I will definitely take something from the experience and am thankful for the invite because not many people have this opportunity.”
Hemingway is the first SU player to get a WNBA contract since Juanita Ward was invited to training camp with the Tulsa Shock in 2010. She joins Ward, Vaida Sipaviciute, Fantasia Goodwin, Julie McBride, Leigh Aziz and Beth Record as former Syracuse players who have been members of WNBA rosters. Sipaviciute (Los Angeles Sparks) and Goodwin (Detroit Shock) both received training camp contracts in 2008. McBride (Chicago Sky) and Aziz (Indiana Fever) signed free agent contracts in 2006 and 2003, respectively, and Record was a second round draft pick of the Sparks in 2001.
“This is great for Iasia,” Orange head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “She's a pro-style player with great attributes. I am very excited for her and I hope she has a chance to play at the professional level.”
Hemingway was a force for the Orange in her senior season, ranking eighth in the BIG EAST in scoring and grabbing 6.4 rebounds per game. She scored in double figures in 28 of 37 games, scored 20 or more six times, and broke the 30-point mark three times. Hemingway set a single-season SU record and ranked fifth nationally in free throws made and attempted in a season, going 201-of-256 at the line, good for a 78.5 percentage. The 2012 All-BIG EAST performer finished her career with an outstanding 1,622 points, 997 of which came in her two seasons with the Orange.
The Liberty is coming off a 19-15 regular season in 2011 and lost two games to one to Indiana in the first round of the playoffs.
The two-week training camp begins April 29. Other rookies joining Hemingway at Liberty training camp will be No. 7 overall pick in the WNBA Draft Kelley Cain, a 6-6 center from Tennessee; third-round pick Katelan Redmon, a 6-1 guard/forward from Gonzaga; and Lauren Broomfield, a 6-1 forward from North Carolina.
For the second of three seasons, the Liberty will play its 2012 home games at the Prudential Center in Hemingway's hometown of Newark, N.J. while Madison Square Garden is renovated.
The Liberty plays its home opener on Saturday, May 19 at 4 p.m. against the Connecticut Sun.
Tuesday, March 24
Monday, March 23
Monday, March 23
Monday, March 23
