Liberty Finalize Roster For 2011 Season

Added by Darius Amos on June 2, 2011.

With just hours to go before the WNBA kicks off its 15th season, the league’s 12 teams have mixed, matched and finally trimmed their rosters to reach the 12-player limit. The Liberty, who open the season June 5 at Atlanta, made several moves this spring, including their final four cuts over the past two days.

During the offseason, first-year head coach John Whisenant pledged to improve the team’s overall rebounding game. To do so, he went big during the WNBA Draft and signed post players to try out. It appears Whisenant has finalized his plan and rotation.

On Tuesday, the team released 6-4 rookie Mekia Valentine. Yesterday, the Libs waived 6-5 center Ewelina Kobryn and 6-2 Crystal Kelly as well as rookie guard Whitney Boddie.

The Libs added Kobryn as a free agent from Poland in April and brought Kelly in to work out with the team in May. Both played well during the preseason but they faced the chopping block after New York acquired Quanitra Hollingsworth from the Minnesota Lynx last week. Hollingsworth will likely see minutes behind Janel McCarville and Kia Vaughn at the loaded center spot.

Valentine and Boddie were brought in as rookies hoping to land spots at already deep positions. Three first-year players did make the final Liberty roster – 6-3 forward Jessica Breland, 6-1 forward/guard Alex Montgomery and 5-8 guard Sydney Colson.