The Liberty announced the team waived guard Jaylyn Sherrod and this year’s second-round draft pick Esmery Martinez. The final roster cut puts the team’s total roster at 11 players — the same amount GM Jonathan Kolb and head coach Sandy Brondello decided to start with last season.

Introducing our 2024 NYL roster

Ready to light it up all season long LET’S GET IT!!!#SEAFOAMSZN | #LIGHTITUPNYL pic.twitter.com/1KI4dOI1wj

— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) May 13, 2024

Monday’s final two roster transactions come two days after the team made its initial cuts. The roster ahead of Tuesday’s road season-opener against the Washington Mystics looks like this:

• Guards: Courtney Vandersloot, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Sabrina Ionescu, Ivana Dojkić and Marquesha Davis
• Forwards: Breanna Stewart, Kennedy Burke, Kayla Thornton and Leonie Fiebich
• Centers: Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally

Sherrod’s departure from the Liberty comes after the undrafted rookie signed a training camp deal with the team last month. Sherrod — a speedy guard whose knack to defend awarded her three Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selections — immediately impressed the team in training camp. The former Colorado guard was the lone bright spot in the team’s embarrassing 101-53 preseason loss to the Chicago Sky last Tuesday. Her defense from college transitioned in the preseason opener as she checked in and quickly hounded guards and recorded two steals in 10 minutes of action. In that matchup, she made two shot attempts for four points.

“That’s just what I do. That’s who I am,” Sherrod said during media day about her speedy and aggressive play style. “[Those are] my strengths. Honestly, that’s what they brought me here for. I really do feel like I’m one of the fastest guards in the country with the ball in my hands.”

She then sealed the Liberty’s lone preseason win, a 82-79 victory against the Connecticut Sun on Thursday, with a steal and go-ahead fastbreak layup with 36.1 seconds remaining in regulation. And her two made free throws were the icing on the cake right before time expired. She ended that night with eight points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals in 14 minutes of action.

But her efforts during game action and on the practice court weren’t enough to make the final 11. The same could be said for Martinez.

The former Arizona forward was selected with the 17th overall pick in last month’s draft. The first Dominican-born WNBA player battled with the Liberty’s star forwards throughout training camp and received opportunities to make her mark in preseason action. She recorded four points, two steals and two assists in 15 minutes in the loss to Chicago. In the win against the Sun, she scored five points, grabbed three boards and recorded one steal in eight minutes.

At the end, the decision came down to the Liberty sticking with veteran depth as the team hopes to return to the WNBA Finals. This year’s first-round pick, Marquesha Davis, and German star Leonie Fiebich, who was selected in the 2020 draft by the Los Angeles Sparks before heading overseas, are the lone rookies to make the final 11. Fiebich has yet to log a regular-season WNBA game in her career.

Along with Fiebich, veterans Ivana Dojkić and Kennedy Burke are among the final 11. The three veterans will play key roles on the Liberty’s re-vamped bench unit. Previously, Kolb touted Burke’s “underrated” ability to switch on defenders and said Fiebich, a forward, is a player the team “can slide all the way to the two [guard position] if you want to.”

Kolb mentioned the 5-11 Dojkić is “a long guard that competes” on the defensive end. The team hopes the second unit will boster a star-studded starting lineup that played a huge role in the Liberty finishing second in offensive rating and third in defensive rating last season.

“So yeah, I think it’s something where we’re not going to really have a drop off when we go to that bench,” Kolb said during media day. “It’s something where we could actually potentially leverage.”

Guards Stephanie Mawuli, Okako Adika, forward Brianna Fraser and centers Jessika Carter and Rita Igbokwe have been waived, the Liberty announced Saturday. The transactions move the Liberty’s roster closer to Monday’s deadline requiring teams to have 12 players. The team could also start the season with 11 players, like it did for the start of the 2023 season.

NY Liberty announced its first round of cuts https://t.co/xsVQDoUIpo

— Fiifi Frimpong (@FiifiFrimpong) May 11, 2024

Carter’s time with the Liberty comes to an end after the team drafted her 23rd overall out of Mississippi State in last month’s WNBA draft. The 6-5 defender seemed to get more comfortable on-court each day in training camp, but had a low chance of making the initial roster with the team’s current depth in the frontcourt. Star forward Breanna Stewart and 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones already are locked for starter roles. Backup Nyara Sabally is now the first center off the bench with last year’s reserve big Stefanie Dolson in Washington. Kayla Thornton, who logged 17.3 minutes last season, is set to be one of the first players off the bench for head coach Sandy Brondello in 2024.

The current frontcourt depth is to blame for Igbokwe’s departure, too. Igbokwe joined the Liberty training camp as an invitee. She spent time alongside her Ole Miss teammate Marquesha Davis, who the team selected in this year’s first round. Igbokwe’s departure puts an end to a “dream” for the 23-year-old.

“I feel like I’m in a dream kinda,” she said during last week’s media day. “I [have] to pinch myself a little bit but it’s definitely been a great experience and I’ve definitely learned a lot.”

Guard Mawuli was a late arrival to her second Liberty camp. She registered 25 minutes in the two preseason matchups in 2024. She recorded six points and one assist in Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Chicago Sky. In Thursday’s win against the Sun, she scored just two points on one shot attempt.

Adika is the Liberty’s first USC draftee in franchise history. The team selected her with the No. 30 overall pick in last year’s draft. At the time, GM Jonathan Kolb described the 6-0 guard/forward as “someone who we can really use down the line.”

Fraser, a Brooklyn native, joined the team on a training camp contract. The 6-3 forward couldn’t beat out this year’s draft selections (Davis, Esmery Martinez) and current key contributors (Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Thornton).

After Saturday’s cuts, the current roster sits at 13 with these players:

• Guards: Courtney Vandersloot, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Sabrina Ionescu, Jaylyn Sherrod, Ivana Dojkić and Marquesha Davis
• Forwards: Breanna Stewart, Kennedy Burke, Kayla Thornton, Leonie Fiebich and Esmery Martinez
• Centers: Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally

Veteran Kennedy Burke wasn’t on the Liberty’s roster last season, but the team has continually expressed interest in keeping the fourth-year WNBA guard/forward’s versatility on the team. The UCLA product has also spent time playing in France.

“She’s a pro now,” Brondello said about Burke. “She’s been in the league. She’s gone away. She’s improved her game and [came back].”

Kolb also praised Burke’s ability on the defensive end.

“Kennedy Burke’s ability to switch is underrated,” Kolb said. “I think that’s something that I know our fans maybe aren’t aware of yet.”

The No. 11 overall pick Davis also projects to make the roster after drawing comps of Phoenix Mercury star Kahleah Copper just a couple days into training camp. The 22-year-old entered the WNBA preseason the same way she ended her college tenure: playing defense on the wing that translates to transition offense.

“She’s not there yet but she certainly has that ceiling,” Brondello said about the Davis-Copper comparison.

European star Leonie Fiebich has garnered huge buzz among Liberty brass since the front office acquired her player rights last offseason. The 6-4 forward could play a key role on the team’s re-vamped bench unit and her success overseas already has the front office talking about how she fits on the Liberty.

“Leonie, I mean, we can slide all the way to the two [guard position] if you want to,” Kolb said about Fiebich, who averaged 12.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 17 Euroleague games with Casademont Zaragoza during the 2023-24 season.

Considering the team’s interest in those three newcomers, the Liberty can expect to have these players locked down for Monday’s deadline:

• Guards: Courtney Vandersloot, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Sabrina Ionescu and Marquesha Davis
• Forwards: Breanna Stewart, Kennedy Burke, Kayla Thornton, Leonie Fiebich
• Centers: Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally

If the team decides to start with 11 players, that leaves one spot up for grabs amongst rookies Martinez and Sherrod and ex-Storm guard Ivana Dojkić. With the help of some leftover cap room, the team could leave camp with 11 players and potentially add a 12th in the summer, per Nets Daily’s Lucas Kaplan. 

There are no remaining preseason games left, leaving the players on the bubble having to potentially fight for the final roster spot in practice.

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced plans to start full-time charter flights for all teams beginning this season.

“We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season,” Engelbert said Tuesday in a meeting with sports editors in New York.

Engelbert said the WNBA will launch the full-time program “as soon as we can get planes in places.”

“It’s fantastic news,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said before Tuesday’s preseason matchup against the Chicago Sky. The head coach added “Credit to the WNBA. They’ve listened. They’ve found ways to make it happen.”

The commissioner said the program will cost around $25 million per year for the next two seasons.

Moments before last month’s draft, Engelbert announced plans to provide charter flights throughout the postseason and for the Commissioner’s Cup. She added charter flights will also be provided to teams traveling on back-to-backs, with more of those games being on schedule due to this summer’s Olympic break.

That is no longer the case, however, with the league taking action as the spotlight on the WNBA grows larger. For years, players voiced their desire for the program, citing safety and better player experience as reasons for a change.

“Having charter flights [are] gonna help,” Brondello said. “We can fly home straight after a game or we can fly to our next destination. That allows more recovery. I think the players were really excited to hear that news today.”

In 2022, the Liberty were fined a league-record $500,000 for providing charter flights through the second half of the 2021 season. The WNBA considered terminating the franchise for violating the league’s CBA and representing a competitive advantage over other teams.

Friday night’s preseason opener featuring Chicago Sky rookies Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso and Minnesota Lynx rookie Alissa Pili was vastly watched on a fan’s social media livestream after the WNBA app couldn’t showcase the matchup.

Initially, the app listed the game, which featured three of this year’s top-8 draft picks, as available to watch. Later, the league clarified that only Caitlin Clark’s debut with the Indiana Fever against the Dallas Wings was being broadcasted.

“Would y’all want me to try and stream the game on here??” X user @heyheyitsalli asked on the platform after the league’s clarification. “No promises on the quality but i can try.”

Indeed, she tried. And fans tuned in.

Viewership numbers fluctuated throughout the 92-81 Lynx win, but the livestream video showed about 434,000 total views at a point.

“I mean, it means people want to watch,” Liberty star Breanna Stewart said during Saturday’s media day at Barclays Center.

Stewart emphasized the need of an easy app viewing experience and the league should be “putting us in as many national televised channels that like everyone gets, not the ones you have to pay for…”

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said postgame that Friday night’s livestream host should’ve been paid.

“Anybody that watched it should send three bucks to the person, I don’t even know who it is,” Reeve said. “I think that what I would say is that the growth is happening so fast. It’s so accelerated. And I’ve been saying this in our own organization — that business as usual isn’t going to work anymore.”

Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot are all settled as incumbent New Yorkers and feel they’ve hit the ground running from Day 1 of training camp.

The same couldn’t be said last year with the trio spending a good portion — if not most — of training camp on the sidelines with injuries.

“A lot of things kind of hit me from different sides,” Jones told the Daily News about her 2023 training camp experience after landing in New York via trade. “I didn’t come in healthy and then I was learning a new offense. Learning how to play with players that I’ve never played in the WNBA with before.”

Jones’ injury and transition contributed to a slow start as new Liberty member. Her foot ailment, which was suffered in the 2022 WNBA Finals with the Connecticut Sun, lingered into the start of the 2023 season while she averaged just 10.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Both numbers were lower than her career marks of 13.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

After getting familiar with Sandy Brondello’s system and overcoming the foot injury post-All-Star break, Jones took off. She recorded a double-double in seven of the 10 matchups after the break while averaging 14.6 points and 12.4 boards during that span. The center had recorded just two double-doubles before the break.

She hopes the same kind of production will be on display from Game 1 of the regular season with the previous year under her belt.

“So it was a lot of things I was trying to learn and get over in the same time,” Jones said about last season. “And I feel like this year everything has kind of fallen into place and allowed me to come in and transition seamlessly.”

Stewart — the 2023 MVP — was “excited” to pick up from where the team ended last season. She wasn’t granted that continuity after departing Seattle for New York in free agency. She had also been playing for Turkish club Fenerbahçe while the Liberty pursued her in free agency.

“For sure,” Stewart said during Saturday’s media day when asked if this training camp and offseason feels like less of a whirlwind.

“I started training camp with no furniture,” Stewart added. “And now to be like settled. I know where I live, I know my things, I know what my kids are doing. And I can just come here to work with my team and continue to get better.

The Syracuse-born hooper also said she’s gotten so accustomed to New York City that she no longer relies on her car to get around.

“I take the subway. I take the subway a lot,” she said. “I just can’t do traffic. The drivers make me carsick.”

The team’s starting guard had hurdles to get over, too. Vandersloot, who signed a deal with the Liberty last offseason, suffered a concussion and missed key practice time before the start of the 2023 regular season.

Brondello believes that the stars — and the rest of the team — building this chemistry is needed for the franchise to win its first title in team history. She likened the need for the team’s core to stick together like the Las Vegas Aces’ core has.

Aces superstars A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young have been together since the 2019 season. Star guard Chelsea Gray and big Kiah Stokes joined that core group in 2021. The group lifted Hall of Famer Becky Hammon’s squad to back-to-back titles in the 2022 and 2023 seasons after years of early postseason exits.

Brondello and the Liberty look to follow that mold. And getting the core back healthy with less distractions is step one in the yearlong process.

She said getting the squad back healthy for this training camp “is nice because last year Stewie had three days with us, JJ was injured, Slooty got concussed. So it was like ‘OK here we go we’re gonna have a training camp in the first month of the season.’

“And you just see the chemistry. The only way you can build chemistry is time. And Vegas had that. You see the continuity, how they’ve grown over the years and we’re hoping that we can take a huge step this year.”

Teams will now be awarded a second coach’s challenge — to be used during regulation play or in overtime — if the first is successful, the league announced. The new change for the 2024 season comes after the league instituted a challenge system, on a trial basis, for the first time in 2023. Last season, coaches were not awarded a second challenge if they won the first one.

Coaches are allowed to trigger a review on a called out-of-bounds violation, a called goaltending or basket interference violation or a foul called on their own team. In addition, a team may continue to retain the timeout used to initiate its first challenge if that challenge is successful.

Brondello called the change “exciting,” and looks forward to using the first challenge more liberally. The coach said she normally wouldn’t challenge calls in the first half and opted to save the review for a more high-leverage situation in the second half. Brondello added that the team will have a designated staff member with an iPad ready to alert her if a play should be challenged or not.

“I’m excited to see how I use it,” Brondello said about the new challenge rules. “You still have to get adapted to that. We’ll have someone that can obviously help on the iPad.”

When asked if the preseason will be a time for her to get used to the new rule, Brondello added: “Yeah, probably a good time to play around with it, explore it [and] get used to it.”

Liberty star center Jonquel Jones said Friday she is also in favor of the new rule, but thinks it could still be revised.

“I thought it was crazy last year,” she told the Daily News after Day 6 of training camp. “I feel like if you challenge something, you shouldn’t be penalized and lose the challenge or lose the timeout if you were right… I mean, I like the new rules, but I still feel like if I’m challenging stuff the whole game and I’m right the whole game, then I should be able to keep my challenge the whole time.”

#WNBA announces rule changes for the 2024 season.

Teams will now be awarded a second Coach’s Challenge – to be used during regulation play or in overtime – if their first Challenge is successful. pic.twitter.com/w8zhNvgcyI

— Fiifi Frimpong (@FiifiFrimpong) May 2, 2024

RESET TIMEOUT

The 2024 WNBA season will also feature reset timeouts for late-game situations. A reset timeout will allow teams to advance the ball and make substitutions, but not huddle. Each team will have one reset timeout in the final two minutes of the fourth period and one in the final two minutes of any overtime period.

To request a reset, a head coach or player must call a timeout and then immediately cross their arms like an “X” and verbalize “reset” to an official.

If either team huddles or prevents the ball from immediately being put into play, a delay of game will be assessed to that team. A reset may not be used due to a stoppage for an injured player, or other delay, unless a team does not have any team timeouts remaining.

Brondello said “there are a lot of different things we’ve got to think about now,” in regards to strategy with the new rules and that she’ll utilize the reset “probably more than anything.”

TIMEOUT STRUCTURE

This season, each team will be allocated five team timeouts in regulation along with a reset timeout. In 2023, each team were allocated four team timeouts. Twenty-second timeouts are now eliminated.

Each team will be limited to two team timeouts after the later of these two instances: the three-minute mark of the fourth period or the conclusion of the second mandatory timeout of the fourth period.

“This is something that the head coaches asked for,” Brondello said. “The timeout structure — that’s what we pushed for.”

Marquesha Davis, this year’s No. 11 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, hit the court running like she did in her time with Ole Miss. On Tuesday, the 6-0 guard frequently raced down the court in transition and performed comfortably while sharing the floor with multiple All-Stars.

Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello noted she called plays for the 22-year-old while she shared the floor with some of last season’s starters. Another possible offensive option off the bench could significantly boost a Liberty squad who finished second in offensive rating last season. But Davis’ play on the other side of the court could instantly earn her minutes this season, with the team lacking stout perimeter defense from guards not named Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.

And perimeter defense is what Brondello alluded to the team not having at times during the 2023 season when speaking after Tuesday’s practice.

“When we drafted her it was exciting because it was a complementary piece to what he didn’t have,” Brondello said Tuesday at Barclays Center. “[She’s] adding to what our core players could do. And how does she help them? It’s not just how they help her. It’s how she helps us, all of us individually, collectively.”

The head coach added that the youngster’s play style — the willing effort to defend and push pace in transition — compares to star Mercury guard Kahleah Copper. However, the veteran coach said Davis is far from being that kind of player but sees the potential.

A Copper player comp is very high praise for a guard who just landed in the league. Copper is one of the best two-way guards the league has to offer. And her three All-Star Game appearances and 2021 WNBA Finals MVP trophy supports her case as one of the league’s best.

Copper, before being dealt to Phoenix in the offseason, was a franchise cornerstone in Chicago. The Liberty hope that Davis can bring some form of that success to a roster with championship aspirations.

“She’s not there yet but she certainly has that ceiling,” the head coach said.

Davis, a former First Team All-SEC selection, was on the Liberty’s radar for “a very long time,” per Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb. The 11th overall pick was the latest first-round selection during his tenure with the Liberty. Since Kolb joined the front office in 2019, the team picked no later than sixth when the Liberty selected Michaela Onyenwere out of UCLA in 2021.

Kolb initially thought Davis wouldn’t fall to No. 11 in the draft but jumped at the opportunity once the team got on the clock.

“We were really hopeful that she would be there at 11,” he said. “We had heard that she wouldn’t be so when she was there we were really excited.

“When you’re at 11 — It’s the first time for us I guess since I’ve been here that we’re that far back in the first round. So there’s a certain amount of anxiety and anticipation over watching what’s going to unfold. So for us at 11, with the roster that we have, we really want to take a hard swing at the highest upside.

The three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist announced on social media that her career was over after 16 seasons.

“The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it’s time,” Parker wrote in an Instagram post. “My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.”

Parker, 38, had told The Associated Press in November she wanted to play another season if she could get healthy from a foot injury that kept her off the court last season. But she cautioned that she didn’t want to “cheat the game,” or herself, and expressed the same in announcing her retirement ahead of the Las Vegas Aces’ attempt to win a third title in a row. Parker has had 10 surgeries over her career.

“I promised I’d never cheat the game & that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it. … I always wanted to walk off the court with no parade or tour, just privately with the ones I love,” she wrote. “What now was to be my last game, I walked off the court with my daughter. I ended the journey just as I started it, with her.”

Parker played her first 13 seasons in the league with the Los Angeles Sparks, establishing her dominance early as a No. 1 pick who won Rookie of the Year and league MVP in the same season. Parker was the only WNBA player to accomplish that feat, averaging 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists while helping the Sparks to a 10-win improvement in 2008.

Parker earned her second MVP award in 2013 and won her first title in 2016 with the Sparks. She’d go on to win a second title with the Chicago Sky in 2021 and a third with the Las Vegas Aces last season.

“It’s tough, it’s bittersweet for myself because I would have loved to have her with us this year. On the other hand I know exactly what it feels like when it’s time, it’s time. The body tells you. It’s not what your mind or your heart is saying. It’s your body,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “She changed the game. She changed what it meant to be a positional basketball player. She played all positions. She’s the one when you talk about people that are now playing and coming up, they practiced Candace Parker’s moves.”

She’s the only player in league history to win a championship with three different teams.

“The memories Candace Parker created for a generation of women’s basketball fans will remain ingrained in our collective conscience forever, but she has given so much more to the game beyond her accolades and statistics,” the Aces said in a statement. “As a teammate and mentor, a mother and wife, a baller, broadcaster and businesswoman she has inspired countless young people, both boys and girls, to chase and achieve their dreams.”

Parker played for the late Pat Summitt’s last two national championship teams at Tennessee in 2007 and 2008. She then left with one year of eligibility remaining.

She won Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012 before shockingly being left off the 2016 team.

“I think obviously Candace has had an amazing career. I’m a little bit sad about it because you love going up against her, the legend that she is,” Liberty star Breanna Stewart said. “What she has done on and off the court has been amazing for our league. Appreciate all she’s done to help me get to where I am. We’ll definitely miss her this season.”

Liberty coach Sandy Brondello coached Parker overseas in Russia for a few years during the winter.

“She’s a trailblazer. Just a wonderful human being and what she’s done for this sport,” Brondello said. “Hopefully it’s celebrated. I’ve got a lot of respect for her. Our kids grew up together when I was coaching in Russia. It’s kind of sad. Everyone knows when it’s the right time.”

Parker began working in broadcasting during her playing career. She has worked as an analyst for the NCAA Tournament with CBS Sports and the NBA for TNT and NBA TV.

She had surgery on her foot in July 2023 and told the AP it still pained her at the end of last year.

“This offseason hasn’t been fun on a foot that isn’t cooperating,” she wrote in her post Sunday. “My mission in life, like Pat Summitt always said, is to ‘chase people and passions and you will never fail.’ Being a wife & mom still remains priority #1 & I’ve learned that time flies, so I plan to enjoy my family to the fullest!”

By Doug Feinberg

The front office position is the first of its kind for the Liberty and Prince will “join the basketball operations department to support and optimize player relations, development, and personnel evaluation.”

“I’m very excited about my new role with the Liberty,” Prince said in a press release. “I’m grateful for the opportunity and can’t wait to work with the coaching staff, players, and everyone in this great organization.

After an amazing 14-year WNBA career, @Piphdagreat10 is officially joining the NY Liberty front office as our Director of Player & Community Engagement! pic.twitter.com/lu1PDyjvN4

— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) April 24, 2024

“Being in my hometown of Brooklyn makes it even more amazing, and I can’t wait to play my part in helping the community.”

Prince’s move to the front office comes after playing 14 seasons in the WNBA, including five seasons with the Liberty (2015-2018, 2023).

The franchise hopes the Brooklyn native can further the team’s outreach efforts, youth basketball programming and social responsibility presence throughout New York City.

“We know Piph will be a phenomenal addition to our front office between her decorated playing experience, basketball IQ, and league wide knowledge,” general manager Jonathan Kolb said in a press release . “Piph’s legendary career is sewn within Brooklyn’s basketball fabric, and as a former Liberty player, this next step in her basketball journey is truly special.”

“Officially retired,” Prince said in a social media post. “I am sitting here trying to find the words to say, and the one word that keeps coming to mind is thankful.”

“I have been fortunate to have a long career filled with unforgettable memories, a lot of winning, ups and downs, traveling the world, and meeting so many amazing people,” she added in her farewell post.

The Chicago Sky selected Prince with the fourth overall pick in 2010. She played three seasons at Rutgers and spent time playing overseas before getting selected in the WNBA Draft. Prince and the Scarlet Knights — led by legendary Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer — came one win short of the NCAA title after losing to Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, Candace Parker and the Tennessee Lady Vols in 2007.

RETIRED

A 2020 WNBA Champion and 2x All-Star, thank you @Piphdagreat10 for all you've done for the game pic.twitter.com/RLHK2ezcxN

— WNBA (@WNBA) April 23, 2024

Both of the 5-9 guard’s All-Star appearances came during her tenure in Chicago (2011, 2013). Prince averaged 14.1 points and 3.1 assists in her first five seasons with they Sky. She later made her homecoming with the Liberty in 2015 and spent four seasons with the team before making stops in Las Vegas and Seattle. Her 18.1 points per game in 2012 was her highest scoring output in a WNBA season.

Prince won her lone title during the condensed 2020 season that took place in an isolated “Wubble” at IMG Academy due to the coronavirus pandemic. There, she played alongside Breanna Stewart, who she later shared the court with again in New York in 2023.

18 years ago today @Piphdagreat10 made national headlines with 113 points in a win for Murry Bergtraum High School.

Epiphanny, after the game: "I couldn't stop smiling." pic.twitter.com/WqxhpHNCQE

— Across the Timeline (@WBBTimeline) February 1, 2024

Prince was well-known to New Yorkers before her stints with the city’s WNBA squad having attended Murry Bergtraum High School, which is a few train stops away from the Liberty’s current home at Barclays Center. She set a national prep record of 113 points in a single game in 2006.

Prince played just 10 games in her return to the Liberty in 2023. Her addition to the roster came on a hardship contract and she was seen around Liberty facilities while not being on the active roster.

For her WNBA career, Prince averaged 10.7 points, 2.5 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. Her overseas action throughout her career included stops in Russia and Turkey.