Tuesday, May 5, 2009

But wait, there's more..........

SPARKS ACQUIRE L.A. NATIVE NOELLE QUINN

Sparks Trade Spencer to New York Liberty for 2010 First-Round Pick; Send First-Round Pick and Masciadri to Minnesota Lynx for Quinn

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks today acquired former UCLA star and Los Angeles native Noelle Quinn. The Sparks traded Sidney Spencer to the Liberty in exchange for their 2010 First-Round draft pick and then sent the exclusive negotiating rights for Raffaella Masciadri and the Liberty's First-Round pick to the Lynx.

"Noelle is a great player; we are very happy about her addition to the team and to be bringing her home," said Vice President and General Manager Penny Toler. "We wish both Raffaella and Sidney the best. Their time here has been great and we believe that this is a mutually beneficial trade all the way around."

Originally selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft by the Lynx, Quinn averaged 3.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in only 16.7 minutes per game in 2008 with 25 starts in just her second season in the league.

Quinn finished her career as the No. 4 all-time scorer in UCLA women's basketball history with 1,829 points. She also totaled 794 rebounds (No. 8 on the UCLA career charts) and 450 assists (No. 7 all-time) to become the only UCLA basketball player, man or woman, to record career numbers of 1,800 points, 700 rebounds and 400 assists. She earned honorable mention All-America honors in her last two seasons and first-team All-Pac-10 acclaim as a freshman, junior and senior, as well as 2004 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors.

"I am so blessed to be joining the Sparks family. My family has always had season tickets and I grew up watching them and then being able to play at UCLA, I always dreamed of having the opportunity to continue playing at home and now that it has come true, I'm overwhelmed," said Quinn. "Thank you to everyone who helped bring me home. It's such a privilege to share in Lisa's last year, to have a chance to help this team win a title and to be here to give back to LA."

Noelle's mother, Golden Quinn, who currently teaches for the Los Angeles Unified School District, has been a Sparks season ticket holder since the WNBA's inaugural season.

The Bishop Montgomery HS alum, known for her many community endeavors, has decided to become a "Patron of Lisa's Legacy." Quinn purchased three season tickets to send three kids to each Sparks home game. In total, 51 kids will benefit from Quinn's sponsorship. To be eligible to win a ticket sponsored by Noelle Quinn, kids can nominate themselves, their friends or be nominated by their parents beginning on Wednesday, May 6th through Monday, June 1st. In 250 words or less, entrants must describe why they feel they deserve the tickets by sending an e-mail to contests@la-sparks.com with "Noelle's Tickets" in the subject line. Each winner will receive a post-game meet-and-greet with Noelle.

For more information on Sparks season tickets, group tickets or partial plans please visit www.LASparks.com or call 1-877-44-SPARKS.

This sure makes things interesting for the Sparks. Bringin home some local flava.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love Noelle and am thrilled to see her back in LA. She has not lived up to her potential in Minnesota, but I know she has a lot to give LA. I think it will prove to be a good acquistion. Now can we get Nikki Blue too.