Simon among 4 signed for Mercury camp

By foxsports
Published


PHOENIX – The Phoenix Mercury has signed Dymond Simon, Brittney Thomas, Zane Tamane and Chastity Reed to training camp contracts. Phoenix’s training camp opens on Sunday, April 29 and features a preseason game against the Japanese National Team on Tuesday, May 8.

Simon, a 5-5 point guard from Arizona State University, who played high school basketball at Phoenix St. Mary’s, averaged 13.2 points per game as a senior, earning All-Pac 12 honors in 2011 for the second time of her career. She ranks seventh on the Sun Devils’ all-time scoring list with 1,216 points. Following graduation, Simon signed with the West Coast Waves of the Australian Women’s National Basketball League.

Thomas, a 5-11 point guard, averaged 7.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists in four seasons at Michigan State. She spent the 2011-12 season playing for Telge in Sweden, averaging 13.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists in the Swedish League.

Tamane, a 6-7 center from Latvia, played collegiately at Western Illinois and was originally selected by the Detroit Shock in the third round of the 2006 WNBA Draft. She played in 16 games for the Washington Mystics in 2006, and has played internationally since then. She played this past season with Fenerbahce in Istanbul, Turkey, where she was a teammate of Mercury forward Penny Taylor and averaged 10.7 points and 6.3 rebounds.

Reed is a 6-1 forward from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, where she became the school’s first women’s basketball player ever drafted in the WNBA, taken 25th overall by the Tulsa Shock in the 2011 Draft. She appeared in 11 games for the Shock last season. Reed was the Sun Belt Conference player of the year in 2011, averaging 17.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Most recently, she averaged 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds in the Israeli League while playing for Hapoel Petah Tikva.

The Mercury will add to its roster with four picks in Monday's WNBA Draft. Phoenix will pick have the sixth pick in the first round and also has one pick in the second round (24th overall) and two in the third round (30th and 33rd).

The draft will begin at 11 a.m. Phoenix time with the first round broadcast on ESPN2.

The Mercury tips off the 2012 season on May 20 against the defending champion Minnesota Lynx. The game will be broadcast on ABC at 9:30 a.m. Phoenix time. Ticket packages for all Mercury home games, which begin May 26 against the Los Angeles Sparks, are available by calling 602-252-WNBA or visiting phoenixmercury.com.