Trio of Sky players headline WNBA All-Star reserves

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper and Emma Meesseman will get a chance to play before their home fans as the trio was selected as reserves for the WNBA All-Star Game on July 10.

The Sky stars will join Candace Parker, who was voted in as a starter to the game last week.

Other reserve guards picked on Tuesday included Washington’s Ariel Atkins, Phoenix’s Skylar Diggins-Smith, Seattle’s Jewell Loyd and Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale. Atlanta rookie Rhyne Howard was also picked by the league’s 12 coaches, who voted for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position regardless of conference.

The coaches were not able to vote for their own players.

Las Vegas’ Dearica Hamby, New York’s Natasha Howard and Connecticut’s Brionna Jones and Alyssa Thomas also were chosen in the frontcourt. Jones is the only player to make the All-Star Game this season while coming off the bench.

Chicago’s James Wade will coach one team while Las Vegas’ Becky Hammon will lead the other. The league announced last week Breanna Stewart and Sylvia Fowles will co-captain one squad and Sue Bird and A’ja Wilson will draft for the other. All four were chosen starters. Fowles and Bird announced earlier this year that they would retire after the season ended.

The two teams will be drafted on Saturday.

Howard, who played with Bird and Stewart in Seattle before coming over to the Liberty put in a pitch to play with her former guard.

“I would love to play with Sue one more time,” she said after New York’s practice Tuesday. “It’s her last All-Star Game.”

The other starters announced last week included Nneka Ogwumike of Los Angeles, Sabrina Ionescu of New York, Jonquel Jones of Connecticut and Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young of Las Vegas.

Indiana is the only team in the league without an All-Star.

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