NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Phoenix Mercury

Mercury Acquires Kim Smith and A'Quonesia Franklin

March 20, 2009 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Phoenix Mercury News Release


PHOENIX - The Phoenix Mercury today announced its acquisition of forward Kim Smith and guard A'Quonesia Franklin from the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for forward/center Barbara Farris.

"You never can have too many shooters," said Mercury Head Coach Corey Gaines, "because good shooters stretch an opponent's defense, allowing your post players to get open looks. That was a key factor in our championship success in 2007, and adding another great shooter like Kim adds to our effectiveness in that area."

The 6-1 Smith appeared in 21 games in 2008 for the Monarch, averaging 1.6 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 6.8 minutes. In her three-year career with Sacramento, she has appeared in 55 games and owns averages of 1.9 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 8.4 minutes.

Drafted by the Monarchs in the first round (13th overall) of the 2006 WNBA Draft, Canadian-born Smith enters her fourth season in the WNBA. The University of Utah product was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year from 2003 through 2006, becoming just the second player in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to be named her conference's player of the year in every season of her collegiate career. Smith also holds the honor of being the first female to have her jersey number retired (No. 4) at the University of Utah.

Franklin, who was drafted by the Monarchs in the third round (38th overall) of the 2008 WNBA draft, appeared in all 34 games during her lone season with the team. She averaged 10.3 minutes, 1.6 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.5 steals per game.

The Phoenix Mercury tips off a summer of savings on Saturday, June 6 when the Mercury take on the San Antonio Silver Stars at 7 p.m. at US Airways Center. The first 6,000 through the doors on opening night will receive a commemorative T-shirt courtesy of the Arizona Lottery. Lower-level season tickets for all 17 home games start at under $10 per game. For tickets and information, visit phoenixmercury.com or call (602) 252-WNBA.

Check out the Phoenix Mercury Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Women's National Basketball Association message board...

Women's National Basketball Association Stories from March 20, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central